Far from Perfect
by 1nvisible
Summary: Family is far from perfect, but despite its flaws, it is one of the most wonderful things out there as Jack is discovering. It may be hard at times, it may be easy, but it is always constant. Come along for the ride in a series of drabbles, oneshots, and arcs in the lives of this new family. Rated T for a few chapters, but mostly K.
1. Chapter 1: The Missing Tooth

**A/N: Hello my beautiful reader(s)! Welcome to my humble little story here on this wonderful site. I have read many awesome drabbles and series of oneshots and decided to try my hand at writing some. I'm going to attempt humor, family, and plenty of angst. My muse is kind today and may provide several updates, and being on summer vacation helps too. I welcome prompts, requests, and brilliant ideas. However, I do not write slash, mpreg, lemons, smut, etc., etc. I hope you enjoy! And if anyone wants to be a beta reader, let me know. I don't catch all of my mistakes, but I do my best. I'm not going to attempt the accents. I'm rather bad at trying to include them. Now, enough of my rambling. Read on!**

_Chapter 1: "The Missing Tooth"_

Post-movie

It was an ordinary day at the North Pole, or at least that's what it appeared to be. Elves wandered happily through the halls, playing tag and causing general mischief. Yetis hurried around, carrying toys to and fro. It was on a fine June morning that a certain winter spirit flew in, searching the halls for a particular Russian.

"North! Where are you?" Jack yelled, peering into rooms and corridors while dodging yetis and elves. He flew down several corridors before stopping outside a closed door. Loud Russian music echoed from within and North was humming along, while the sounds of saws and small picks filtered through underneath the louder sounds. Jack pushed the door open and flew in, narrowly avoiding an ice origami crane that flapped around before settling on the train track. "Ah, Jack, vhat are you doing here?" North asked curiously, pushing up his goggles and pausing his music.

"Planning a little bit of payback for Tooth dumping a load of toothpaste on me after I ate a few cookies," he explained with a mischievous smirk. "A few?" North asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Okay, ten or twelve. They were good, you can't blame me!" Jack protested. North chuckled and shook his head. "No, I too have falling prey to ze cookies, and Tooth's resulting insanity over oral hygiene. But how this concerns me, I do not understand," he replied, puzzled. "Let me tell you the plan…," Jack told him, leaning forward and whispering into his ear.

North let out a loud laugh and smiled at the spirit's plan. "Is good plan, Jack. I will play my part," he said with a nod. "Great! I'll tell Sandy and Bunny. Organize a meeting in about an hour," Jack called, zooming out the window.

* * *

It was a quiet night over Japan and the children were fast asleep. Although they weren't aware of it, small streams of golden sand were flowing into their rooms and hovering over their heads, urging the spark of imagination to grow into beautiful dreams. Hovering over the town of Tokyo, a small, golden man relaxed on his dreamcloud, sending out streams all over the part of the globe that was in the shadows of night. He had just finished Asia when he heard a voice calling his name.

"Hey Sandy! I have a favor to ask you," Jack called, flying over and sitting on his cloud. Sandy grinned, always happy to see his favorite winter spirit. He had watched over Jack during the 300 years he was alone, unable to make contact as much as he would have liked, and now seeing him fitting into his role as a Guardian made him happier than he had been in a while. For a long time, he had settled for the monotony of his life, sending dreams to children all over the world for hundreds of year, but now Jack Frost had come and shaken everything up, for all of the Guardians.

"So I have this plan, and I need to inform you so you won't freak out, although I think Tooth is definitely going to throw a fit," he began. Sandy formed a question mark over his head, curious to know what he was planning. Jack leaned forward, like he had with North, and whispered his plan. A smile grew on Sandy's face as he listened, and he nodded eagerly. He felt a brief pang of pity for Tooth, but it was all in good fun so he signaled his agreement.

Jack grinned. "Great! I'll see you at the meeting," he called as he flew off to go find a way into Bunny's warren.

* * *

Jack knew just where to look, and so he flew south to Australia. Judging by the Kangaroo's accent, he had to spend a lot of time here, so it made sense that an entrance to his warren would be around here somewhere. "If I were the Kangaroo, where would I put my home?" Jack mused aloud, looking around. It was night, so the temperature was comfortably cool and the wind carried him all over the continent, searching for an entrance, until at last he spotted a furry tail disappearing into a hole in the ground. Before it could close up, Jack had shot down it, aided by the wind for an extra burst of speed before the hole closed overhead and he followed the tail until he found himself in the Warren.

Bunny shivered as a burst of cool air came out of the tunnel behind him and he whirled around to spot a certain Guardian of Fun grinning at him as he landed on the ground, swinging his staff over his shoulder.

"What do you want, Frostbite?" he grumbled, irritated that Jack had managed to follow him into his once private home. "Aren't you happy to see me Kangaroo?" he asked, adopting a look of innocence. "Just tell me why you're here and then leave me to my googies," Bunny grumbled as a swarm of eggs surrounded them. "I think you'll be interested to hear of my latest plan. And I need your help with some… acting," Jack explained, a familiar smirk crossing his face. "No way, I am not going to be the butt of another one of your stupid pranks, mate," Bunny retorted, turning away and hopping over a field.

"Just hear me out! It's not you I'm after, it's Tooth. It's just some harmless fun," Jack protested. Bunny's ears perked up at hearing Jack's target, as did his curiosity. "All right, I'm listening," he replied, trying to maintain an expression of disinterest. Jack smiled and explained his plan.

* * *

"A molar in Des Moines, sector eight! Incisors in New York City, east block!" Tooth ordered, spreading out orders among her fairies. One who had returned from a tooth run flew to her, squeaking urgently. "A meeting? Is it Pitch? Did something happen?" she asked rapidly, immediately flying to the North Pole. After a quick flight, she flew in through the window, landing on the ground in front of the globe.

"North! What's going on?" she asked, hurrying over to the big fellow. "Just a checkup meeting. I decided to hold it early, big supply shipment due on our normal date," he explained. Sandy floated over, hiding a grin through his excitement of the upcoming prank. "Jack and Bunny are late," Tooth observed, floating over to a window to watch outside before letting out a gasp.

"Tooth? Is something wrong?" North asked, coming to look out the window beside her. "Jack and Bunny, they're fighting!" she shrieked, flying out the window to go break it up. As she arrived, North and Sandy trailing behind, Bunny's paw connected with Jack's face and he stumbled back, holding a hand to his cheek before a weird expression crossed his face and he spat out something small and white into his hand. "JACK!" Tooth screamed, flying over and prying open his mouth. One of his molars, his beautiful molars, was gone. Tooth backed away slowly, trembling, before turning to Bunny with an angry expression. "BUNNY!" she shrieked, flying over to him threateningly. "How DARE you?! You knocked out one of his beautiful teeth!" she screamed, before realizing what she had said and promptly fainted, along with some of her fairies who had accompanied her.

Everyone broke out into loud giggles, chuckles, and guffaws. "Oh, that was great!" Bunny chuckled. Jack dropped the small pebble and began rubbing at the paint that covered his tooth. "She vill not be happy when she awakes," North warned them as Sandy picked himself up from where he had been rolling on the ground in glee.

"Yep, I know. But I figured that the relief of my tooth still being in my mouth and undamaged will calm the beast," Jack replied, unconcerned.

Later on, after Tooth had awoken and gotten over her shock, she laughed along with the rest, although she still shot Jack a threatening glare that hinted at revenge in the future but he was too happy at his success to care.

**A/N: Imagine if Jack actually lost a tooth. She would have a bigger fit than that, probably. This just came from the recesses of my mind so I figured I'd start this story on a happy note. Review, please, and leave suggestions! **


	2. Chapter 2: Fangirls

**A/N: Second update within a day! Another one involving Tooth, or rather her fairies. They're so adorable in the movie! Oh, and a warning to everyone, I have not read the books but I have read enough fanfiction to get the idea of what happens in them. I'm not planning to include very much from them in here, so I'm sorry if that's what you wanted. Onto the story!**

_Chapter 2: Fangirls_

Post-movie

It was a quiet day at the Burgess lake and Jack was lounging around after a long day of playing with Jamie and the kids in the snow. Their last snowball fight had been one of the largest Jack had ever been a part of, involving the whole neighborhood and then some, which showed how fast belief in Jack was spreading. Already, kids in nearly every country had at least heard of him, although he didn't have as any believers as the other four, but he was content. It was more than he had ever dreamed of having and life was good.

"All right, I think it's time to sleep," Jack murmured drowsily, floating up to a branch and getting comfortable. He watched with a small smile as golden streams of dreamsand began flying around overhead. As his eyes slipped closed, he heard a small squeak. Instantly, he was awake and perched on the branch, staff in hands as he looked around, unsure of where the sound had come from. After waiting at least ten minutes and not hearing anything else, he relaxed and settled back down. As his eyes closed a second time, a bright flash went off not far from his face. High-pitched giggling broke out amongst a small group of fairies hovering above him and struggling to keep a camera aloft.

"Hello, ladies," Jack greeted them, flashing them a bright grin that caused them to swoon at the whiteness of his sparkling teeth. Several struggled with the camera, desperate to not lose the precious pictures they had taken. "Are you taking pictures of me sleeping?" he asked, confused and a little alarmed at them being able to sneak up on him like that. He prided himself on his instincts and the fact that he had not even heard the fluttering of their little wings was disconcerting. They squeaked assent, looking a bit ashamed, and then he caught sight of a familiar face, yellow head feather fluttering in the slight breeze.

"Baby Tooth?! You were in on this too?" he demanded, shocked. She nodded her head, not meeting his eyes. "You know, if you wanted a picture, all you had to do was ask. I even sign autographs," Jack told them, smirking slightly. They all looked up at that and began squeaking happily, holding the camera up again. Jack smiled and showed off his teeth for several pictures before one fluttered up to him with a pen. "Wait, I was joking about signing! And where did you even get that anyway?" he questioned, bewildered at the sudden response he had gotten.

"Fine, fine, I'll sign them," he sighed, giving in to their adorable puppy dog eyes. One fairy he could resist. Ten of them, not a chance. They pulled out some old photos they had taken, Jack's eyes bugging out at the different shots, as they flew into his face and waved them around excitedly. He began signing them as quickly as he could, as the fairies passed the photos around so they could examine his signature.

"I swear you lot are turning into stalkers," he muttered, shaking his head slightly. Instead of responding to his statement, the fairies turned to converse among themselves before turning back to him and beckoning him to follow them as they turned and flew off into the night sky. Confused and curious, he followed them into the sky.

* * *

Soon, he realized where they were going. "The Tooth Palace? Please don't tell me you have thousands of pictures hidden there," he groaned, rubbing his hand as he thought of all the signing he'd have to do. The fairies smiled deviously as they led him into the enormous structure, hundreds of other fairies fluttering around his head to look at his teeth.

He shot them a grin as they flew past, causing several to drop out of the air in swoons. The original fairies he had been following led him deeper than he had ever gone into the palace and he soon entered a small little room filled with thousands of miniature beds. "Is this your room?" he asked, intrigued at the little personal touches he saw everywhere. A flower here, a ribbon there, even a little unicorn sticker, probably a gift from a little believer. He was led to an upper corner of the room that seemed to be devoted to him. Pictures were posted everywhere of him, and he even saw a small lock of his white hair stuck to the corner of the ceiling.

"You got a piece of my hair?! That's just creepy," he muttered, but the fairies didn't seem bothered by his statement. They carefully taped the signed pictures up and led him to their favorite ones and he obligingly signed them much to their delight. Soon, he noticed several fairies had begun to yawn and drift towards their beds. Many of their other sisters were also sleeping, resting after a busy night of collecting teeth. He smirked and floated over to where Baby Tooth was crawling into her tiny bed. He stroked a finger along her tiny, feathered head and watched as she nuzzled closer. He stroked the surrounding fairies too and soon, many had clustered around to feel his cool fingers on their soft heads. He sighed and settled in, getting comfortable. It was going to be a long night.

**A/N: I love the idea of a fairy fanclub and honestly, if you met someone with beautiful teeth, you'd want a picture too. I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Eyes

**A/N: I was only planning on writing two of these tonight, until this idea hit. There I was, ready for a delightful meal at Olive Garden, then BAM! Idea! So I'm recording it now while I still have it fresh in my mind. This is more cute fluff. I'll get into more angsty stuff later. Today is a fluffy day. Enjoy!**

**Whoops, I've been forgetting the disclaimer. I do NOT own any of these characters! And I NEVER will. EVER. **

_Chapter 3: The Eyes_

Pre- and post-movie

It was one of life's greatest mysteries, in Jack's opinion. He would see kids and their parents arguing, their parents firmly saying no to whatever new demand the kids had, the kids would simply _look _at their parents, and then they caved! It had to be some type of magic that the children possessed, that must be the answer. Even Jack felt the pull of their big, innocent eyes that resembled the look he would see on a puppy.

For the next century, he studied 'the eyes' as he dubbed them. Being invisible did, occasionally, have its perks and he was able to get close up to study the various kids' faces and what looks seemed to be the most effective. Jack was determined to learn this trick as well, for technically he was still in the body of a 17-year old child. He knew no one would be able to see it, aside from the other spirits who regarded him as little more than dirt, but who knows? Maybe one day he'd have believers or at least friends to use it on.

Finally, Jack mastered the look. The years of study had finally paid off and he could summon the adorable, innocent look as quickly as he pleased, just like his usual mask of feigned casualness and enjoyment. He used the ice of his pond to practice during the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere, and an unusually reflective glacier in Antarctica during the Southern winter. When he finally deemed the look acceptable, he grinned a mischievous grin. This could be a useful weapon in his arsenal someday.

* * *

"No!"

"Aw come on North, just one more."

"I said no, Jack. Nine cookies? Perfectly fine. But ten? Oh, no! You have had enough cookies."

"But you've already had, like, twenty already!"

"Is because I am Santa. I am made to eat cookies. You are not."

Jack pouted, angry to see his prize held high on a plate above his head. He and North had been enjoying a casual chat in front of the fireplace, sharing some cookies together, but apparently ten cookies had been crossing the line. He didn't see the harm anyway. It's not like he was going to gain twenty pounds. He was stuck in his teenage body and no amount of sugary foods would change that. North, sensing victory was close at hand, grinned triumphantly and set the plate down on a table away from Jack.

Jack sighed, ready to accept defeat, until suddenly the memory of wide, innocent eyes breaking down even the most stubborn of parents came to mind and he grinned. At long last, he would be able to practice 'the eyes' on someone. He turned to North and widened his eyes, filling them with innocence and cuteness.

North glanced over to see Jack staring at him pleadingly, his ice blue eyes seemingly growing and filling with hope and innocence. The longer he stared, the cuter it got and the more he felt his will crumbling. He held on as long as he could, which was an impressive twenty seconds, before sighing and handing the plate over. "Fine, one more. But only one!" he said firmly. Jack grinned and grabbed a cookie, eating it contentedly.

* * *

Only a month later, and Jack had another opportunity to use 'the eyes'. He had swung by the Tooth Palace for a visit and had seen Tooth overworking herself as usual. Jack sighed, rolling his eyes, and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from her frantic fairies. "Jack, what are you doing? I need to work!" Tooth protested, struggling to twist her arm out of his grip.

"You have been working! Your fairies can handle a day on their own while you go and take a break. When's the last time you had a proper nap?" he asked, noticing the slight bags beneath her eyes.

"Six weeks ago, but that's not important! I have to direct them to the teeth!" she exclaimed, struggling harder. Jack only tightened his grip and frowned at her. "They are perfectly capable of handling it by themselves. Come on Tooth," he ordered. She simply shook her head and tried to fly back. Time to bring out the secret weapon.

Tooth was furious. How dare he try to take her away from her important work! He knew how big a deal this was, especially after the Pitch fiasco last year. She turned to remind him of that but was suddenly caught by two wide, blue eyes staring at her. Had his eyes always been so blue? So big? So… utterly adorable? She couldn't remember and her thoughts began to trail away as he stared at her. Two seconds later, she caved in.

"All right, maybe a little nap could do me some good. Baby Tooth, you're in charge!" she called back to the little fairy who chirped an affirmative and began squeaking out orders. Jack grinned and led Tooth away from the workplace, silently thanking those kids who had taught him this wonderful trick without even knowing it.

* * *

Sandy was in the midst of an internal struggle. Jack had asked him to do something he had never considered, and it wasn't appealing to him very much at the moment. The prospect of bringing Bunny's wrath down upon him because he had gone along with a little prank was something he wanted to avoid.

"Please Sandy! All you need to do is knock him out while I paint a purple mustache on him and we'll be gone! He won't even know you're there," Jack begged desperately. Sandy shook his head. He wasn't getting involved in this ridiculous prank feud. "It'll be fun! You'll enjoy yourself," the winter spirit pleaded, but Sandy was adamant. He was immune to pleading and begging.

Jack pouted, crossing his arms and sitting down on the dreamsand. Sandy simply looked at him with a bored expression. Pouting wouldn't work either. Not on the master of Dreams! Nothing worked against him, he was as solid as rock. Jack sighed, before smirking slightly. That smirk never meant anything good. He turned to look at Sandy and widened his eyes pleadingly, drawing the little golden man's gaze to his own. Sandy tried to turn away, to cover his eyes, to knock Jack out so he couldn't see those blasted eyes but… he couldn't. He just couldn't turn away from that adorable, innocent look. And so, with a sigh, he nodded. He knew he would regret this if Bunny caught him, but he couldn't say no. No one, not even the master of Dreams, could resist 'the eyes'.

* * *

Jack had one more target to use his look on. Bunny. He would be the hardest to win over, but Jack was confident in his look and so, with a small smile gracing his face, he flew down to land in front of the Pooka who was currently sketching a small winter forest in his notebook of sketches and ideas for egg designs.

"Hey Bunny! Wanna go elf bowling at the Pole with me?" Jack asked eagerly. "No," Bunny replied immediately, not looking up. "Come on, just one game! I'll go easy on you," he pleaded. "I told you, no. Now bug off," Bunny snapped, trying not to get annoyed.

"Buuunnnyyy, you know you want to."

"I know I don't."

"You're just scared you'll lose."

"I'm not scared of anything, you dill. I'm busy."

Jack scoffed at that. "Busy? You're just drawing! I doubt the world will come to an end if you take a little break and go bowling," he retorted.

"Didn't say it would. Go ask North or Sandy to play, I'm sure they'd be more than willing," Bunny suggested, closing his eyes in annoyance.

Jack grinned, preparing himself for the challenge. Bunny would be a tough nut, or egg, to crack, but not even the Guardian of Hope stood a chance. "Look me in the eyes and say no, and then I'll leave," Jack ordered. Bunny laughed. "That's it? Wow, I thought it would be harder than that to chase you off," Bunny remarked, and he made the fatal mistake of looking up.

His emerald green eyes were instantly met by sapphire ones and he felt his willpower being pushed to the extreme. The words died on his tongue as he met the look that should've belonged on a little puppy, not on a boy. Jack pushed his bottom lip out slightly, adding to the overall cuteness and he stared deep into Bunny's eyes. "N…. N…," Bunny began, but he couldn't get the word out. They were locked in a staring contest for a good five minutes before he sighed and closed his notebook. "Fine! You win! One game. I'm going to cream you for interrupting my drawing time," he relented. Jack let out a whoop of joy and took off into the air, flying towards the Pole with the reluctant Pooka following behind.

All four Guardians had fallen to it and they were in unanimous agreement. 'The Eyes' were a dangerous weapon and anyone who opposed them would fail.

**A/N: I just had to write this! My muse is satisfied. I definitely had a lot of fun with this. Maybe it'll come up again later... I'll think up new ideas for the next update, but suggestions are encouraged and welcomed. I hope you enjoy my writing!**


	4. Chapter 4: Gone with the Wind

**A/N: Hello all you wonderful, wonderful people out there! Thank you so much for the reviews (replies below)! To be honest, I wasn't sure if anyone would like this but I'm glad to see it's worth following. Today, I'm planning on posting two chapters. A little oneshot here, and then the start of an arc. Hopefully I can pull the plot together into something presentable. Ah well, we'll see how it goes. This one is less fluffy.**

**Thanks to **_**Cassia T, AngetianPrincess18, mandamichelle, Live How You Want To Live, ieatlorriesforbreakfast, PrincessRakka, and EmotionalDreamer101 **_**for the faves/follows! You people are amazing. **** I apologize for any misspellings of names.**

_**Magiccatprincess**_**: Yes, yes he is. A Guardian of Fun is expected to be when it comes to pranks!**

_**Live How You Want To Live**_**: As would I. It's too bad we couldn't see anything like that in the movie. Glad you liked the chapter! **

**I now present to you Chapter 4! And for clarification, the spirits aren't actually the wind's children. She just calls them that.**

_Chapter 4: Gone with the Wind_

_Pre-movie_

The Wind had many children. Many playful sprites and spirits loved to ride her currents throughout the world and she took great pleasure in carrying them to all corners of the Earth. But of all of her dear spirits who she watched over, one in particular stood out from the others. The young winter spirit had bonded with her almost as soon as he had risen from the frozen pond, and she had eagerly taken him for his first ride in his strange, new life. He was far more polite than the others, always respectfully requesting her for assistance in travelling around and seeing the world. The others had lost that as they had become used to her presence over hundreds of years. That's why she always took pleasure in new spirits.

Jack Frost was unusual from other spirits, as the Wind soon found out. Instead of turning to other spirits for companionship in his first decades of life, he turned to the humans. What he saw in those grounded bi-pedals, she didn't know, but he was always so desperate to get their attention first. Later on, he would eventually turn to the other spirits, but they rejected his attempts of friendship quickly as he soon gained a reputation of being a troublemaker.

For three hundred years, Jack had only one friend. The Wind. She was one of the few constants in his life, along with his lake and staff. She saw his loneliness and always did her best to blow away the frozen tears as he mourned his lack of companionship. The Wind would always do her best, but even she knew she was no substitute for a friendly hug, an inside joke, a pat on the shoulder. She knew Jack longed to reach out and not go straight through someone. She sensed his desire to feel a touch of friendship, instead of the blows of an enemy spirit. But she did not abandon him, even when he felt he was alone. Through the hardships of his life, she was there for him and he knew it.

Jack Frost could speak to the Wind, but she could never talk back. Her means of communicating were a gentle breeze, a fierce gale, or the tiniest gust of wind that would caress and comfort. She could bring a smile to his face when he was sad, but it never lasted for long. It would soon slip away, and his true emotions would emerge on his face. The Wind knew him better than anyone. She could recognize his various masks, his smiles to cover up his pain, and his small, rare smiles of true happiness that never fully disappeared. This amazed the Wind more than anything. Many, many other spirits she had known had faded from their existence after centuries of bitterness and frustration at being separate from the human world, but not Jack. He accepted his life and tried to make the best of it. Even when others turned their backs on him, he still found ways to smile.

While other spirits had fairies, or pixies, or little minions, Jack had the Wind. True, she didn't belong solely to him. She aided any spirit who required her assistance, but a large part of her spiritual heart belonged to the little winter spirit. She happily blew him along like a snowflake as he spread gentle snowfalls and fierce blizzards all over the globe. When he started a snowball fight, she would blow just a little harder to give the white ball the perfect trajectory to hit its target. When he was walked through by giggling children who had no idea of his existence, she would fly him away and comfort him through the tears and the pain. When he got into any sort of mischief, the Wind would help his pranks go off perfectly. Other spirits marveled at how lucky he was and how he rarely got caught, but he knew who to thank. The Wind was the perfect accomplice and partner in crime.

They were more similar than people realized. Jack, like the Wind, never liked to be cooped up or stay in one place for long. They were both free spirits who went where they wanted and no one could stop them. Unceasing energy carried them around the globe as they flew to every wonderful site. The Wind was sometimes unwanted and blocked out by others, just was Jack was among both spirits and humans. Doors would slam shut, windows locked, and people would hurry away from the sudden cold or gust of wind. But in the end, that didn't really matter. They had each other throughout the years and that would never change.

The Wind wanted only one thing for Jack. She wanted to see him with a family again, with people who could make him laugh and comfort him when he cried. But she knew that for now, she would have to be his family. A mother, father, brother, and sister all in one. But one day, Jack would get that again. The Wind would make sure of it. However, until that day came, she could take him wherever he wanted and he would be gone, gone with the Wind.

**A/N: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but I wanted to focus on Jack's relationship with the Wind. I'm sorry if it felt a bit disconnected. It was kinda hard to make it flow. I hope you like it, and don't forget to review! **


	5. Chapter 5: Winter Mishaps

**A/N: Alright, here is the first chapter in my first arc! Don't get used to these multi-chapter updates though. I'm starting a driving class pretty soon which will cut into writing time. :-/ Oh well, at least gym class a.k.a. summer torture is almost over! Yay! Now onto the chapter, but a quick warning. I'm using an OC here… I usually don't like OC's all that much, but I don't want Pitch to be the only villain here. He'll come in later. But only one villain gets boring after a while so I'm bringing in someone new! I apologize for the bad name, but it was the best I could do. And yes, I know North's grammar isn't great but I'm doing that on purpose!**

**EDIT: So I just realized that the OC doesn't actually appear in this particular chapter... sorry about that, they will show up soon. With their terrible name unless I think of a better one. So sorry if that caused any confusion!**

**Disclaimer: I keep forgetting these darn things. I do NOT own any of the characters except my new OC!**

_Chapter 5: Winter mishaps _

_Post-movie_

All was quiet at the North Pole. Too quiet. Christmas was in less than two weeks and there should have been yetis and elves hurrying every which way, to steal cookies or to finish painting robots. However, nothing was stirring, not even a mouse. This all concerned North greatly. He had been hoping to avoid the usual Christmas scramble, but clearly that wasn't going to happen. All of his workers had been gone for two days and it was time to bring in the Guardians.

The Northern lights blossomed across the sky and soared out above the world, alerting four individuals to their presence. Soon, the window and door were pushed open and Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy all hurried in. "We saw the lights, North. What's going on? Is it Pitch again?" Bunny demanded, irritated at having been woken up from a nice nap.

North shook his head. "Not Pitch, I do not think. This is worse, much worse. I will explain more when Jack arrives," he replied.

"Speaking of Jack, where is he?" Tooth asked, looking out the window worriedly. Sandy formed a snowflake and then a person sleeping in bed.

"Asleep? Nah, its December. He never sleeps during snowball season. The little blighter is probably just running late, making the rest of us wait on him as usual," Bunny grumbled, pulling out an egg and a paintbrush but before he could start applying a fresh coat, a cold gust of wind blew in. Bunny dropped the egg as he shivered violently, and frowned at the incoming winter spirit. "Dang it, Frostbite! That's the fifth egg you've made me drop at these meetings," he snapped, scooping it up and inspecting it for cracks.

"Oh relax, Cottontail. You only have, what, a billion others?" Jack replied calmly, perching on his staff and looking at the other Guardians, before his gaze settled on North. "What's going on here anyway?" he questioned curiously.

North let out a sigh, running a hand wearily down his face. "As you may have noticed, we are alone here at the Pole. My workers are gone and have been missing for two days. Have any of you seen or heard anything?" he asked seriously, looking around at the others. They all shook their heads, and North groaned.

"Great. Is less than two weeks until Christmas and I have nobody to make toys. We must find them!" North declared suddenly. The others looked at each other before Bunny hopped forward, looking him in the eye. "And where exactly do you propose we start? They could be anywhere! Do you have any sort of clue as to where they could be?" he pointed out, sensing a long and fruitless hunt ahead.

"Have you seen anything unusual? Any yetis acting odd? Any suspicious characters lingering around?" Tooth fired off, fluttering around nervously.

"Only thing I have noticed is weird chill in air. But fireplaces and internal heating are all working fine!" North answered, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Everyone immediately looked at Jack who looked around, wide-eyed.

"Woah, hold on. I didn't have anything to do with this!" Jack protested, raising his hands in the air. "We are not blaming you, Jack. But you are associated with the cold," North pointed out. Jack shook his head. "I didn't do it! Do you have any known enemies who hang around the cold?" he asked quickly. North thought for a moment before shaking his head.

Sandy waved his hands, catching their attention, and formed a picture of a yeti, a snowglobe, and then a frozen tundra. "Could a yeti have accidentally opened a portal and sent them all to Antarctica?" Tooth asked, interpreting Sandy's question. "And sent every single elf and yeti in this place there too? Not likely," Bunny pointed out, putting away his egg. "Still, is good place to start looking. To the sleigh!" North ordered.

* * *

"Why, why, why did I agree to this? It's bloody freezing!" Bunny complained, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm himself. Jack laughed at his discomfort as he flew past. "Oh come on, Kangaroo, surely you aren't afraid of a little cold!" he teased as he flew above the glacier they were on.

"Boys! Now is not the time for fighting! We need to help North and find his workers," Tooth yelled at them as she flew by, searching the nearby terrain. Sandy nodded and pushed them apart with his dreamsand before floating over to another section. Jack winked at Bunny before flying to in a different direction.

It was after 3 hours of searching that Jack finally called out to the others. "Guys! Over here," he yelled, motioning them over to the side of a sheer cliff. Tooth and Sandy flew down to where he was floating while North and Bunny peered over the side, the latter trying not to focus on the long drop beneath him. Jack pointed to a cave in the side of the glacier and there, inside, were the elves and yetis who were all frozen to the floor by their feet.

The flying trio flew in and landed in a free space in the huge cavern. "What happened to you guys?" Tooth asked, fluttering over to one of the yetis. North clambered down to them, using his swords as hand holds. Bunny popped out of the floor and began hacking at the ice with his boomerangs. Phil, who was in the front, began explaining in his garbled language and gestured to Jack. "What's he saying? And why's he pointing at me?" Jack questioned, confused and suddenly nervous.

North listened a while longer before nodding and slowly turning to Jack who took a step backwards. A nearby elf tried to move away from him in alarm, but couldn't move its little feet. It and all the others stared at Jack in fear while the other Guardians all looked between the two cautiously, ceasing their efforts to release the frozen creatures.

"Phil says…," North began, but stopped, shaking his head as he tried to process what the yeti had told him. "What did Phil say, North?" Tooth asked quietly, fluttering forward and laying a hand on his arm carefully, offering him support. He took a deep breath and looked at Jack.

"He says it was you, Jack. He and all the others saw you. He says you… wanted to ruin Christmas."

**A/N: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my attempt at a cliffhanger. You'll probably get the next part tomorrow. I have a question for you. Should I post the whole arc without interruptions? Or should I spread some oneshots throughout it? Tell me what you think and don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6: Two

**A/N: Hey, sorry for the small delay. I haven't had access to my computer for the past couple of days but I have it now! And I'm waiting for my phone to update which takes a LONG time so I have some time to kill and what better way than by updating FFP? So I thank you for your patience. I have decided to just finish this arc before posting more oneshots. My best friend helped me come up with a decent name for my OC (who will only go by their first name to make things easier). They may or may not show up here, you'll just have to read and find out.**

**A special thanks to **_**sakura-blossoms-26, DarkQueen3, **_**and **_**Rosaline Star Cavalry **_**for the faves/follows! **

_**Sakura-blossoms-26: **_**I hope this is soon enough!**

**Onto Chapter 6!**

* * *

_Previously…_

_"Phil says…," North began, but stopped, shaking his head as he tried to process what the yeti had told him. "What did Phil say, North?" Tooth asked quietly, fluttering forward and laying a hand on his arm carefully, offering him support. He took a deep breath and looked at Jack._

_"He says it was you, Jack. He and all the others saw you. He says you… wanted to ruin Christmas."_

* * *

_Chapter 6: Two_

Jack stared at North, mouth agape in stunned silence. "M-me?" he finally managed to stutter out in a rather high squeak. This felt like last Easter all over again.

North nodded solemnly. "The yetis say they saw a figure your height with white hair and a staff who froze them all together, opened a portal, and stuck them in this cave," he explained.

"But I didn't do it!" Jack protested again. "Mate, how many other white haired winter spirits with a big stick do you know of?" Bunny pointed out, stepping forward.

"Jack, if this is your attempt at a joke…," Tooth began, but Jack began shaking his head furiously. "It wasn't me! Even I have my limits about pranking. Why don't you guys believe me?" he asked, betrayal evident in his voice.

"Is not question about believing you. But all the facts seem to stack up against you. And you were rather late to our meeting this morning," North pointed out. Before Jack could reply, Sandy floated up between them, waving a sand flag. He quickly made a series of images of Jack walking with his eyes closed and little z's floating up.

"Sleepwalking? I don't sleepwalk, Sandy. And besides, I was sleeping at my lake! I doubt the Wind would've flown me here while I was asleep," the winter spirit retorted, backing away from the other Guardians. "Clearly you guys don't believe me. But I can prove to you that it wasn't me!" he declared, before flying out of the cavern.

"Jack!" Tooth called, but it was too late. He had gone.

* * *

Back at the Pole a couple of hours later, the four Guardians were 'relaxing' around the fire after unfreezing the yetis and elves. Bunny was wearing a hole in the carpet with his relentless pacing, Sandy was at the window sending out streams of dreamsand to the sleeping children, Tooth was alternating between giving orders to her fairies and trying to come up with an explanation, and North was sitting in his armchair while staring into the flickering flames.

"Maybe he was tricked… or lost his memories… or maybe Pitch took over him briefly… bicuspids in San Diego," Tooth muttered as she flew around the rafters.

"Or maybe he is still bitter after 300 years of isolation and this is how he's taking his revenge," Bunny muttered, pausing to glare out the window and reflecting on their mistake. The other three looked down at the ground, guilt and sadness filling their hearts.

North snapped out of their sad daze first and stood up. "No! I do not believe Jack would stoop so low. He has made it clear that he is willing to move on and ruining Christmas clearly contradicts that. So what really happened?" he asked, looking around the room and ignoring a group of elves who were carrying a plate of cookies around.

"You're sure your yetis weren't mistaken?" Bunny asked again, still trying to find a clue that didn't add up. North nodded. "As I have said the past hundred times, I am positive about what they saw. It's been confirmed by every single one of them," he replied confidently.

Sandy formed a bunch of question marks that danced above his head, displaying his confusion. "I do not understand this either, Sandy. But we must not rest until we get to the bottom of this," North replied.

* * *

Meanwhile, down in Antarctica, a certain Guardian was flying in a daze, blinking tears from his eyes. How could they even think that he had done something like this? Did they still blame him for last Easter? Or maybe they were trying to find any excuse they could to kick him out and this was it. Jack shook his head, clearing the depressing thoughts from his mind. There would be time for this later. He had a job to do now and seeing as this desolate land of ice was the source of the problem, he decided to start searching the glaciers for any clues. He would prove to the Guardians that he was innocent.

Jack spent the rest of the day soaring high above the glaciers, soaring high and low as he searched for an answer. But nothing unusual appeared in the blank, white landscape and he felt his spirits beginning to sink. If he couldn't find anything, the Guardians would hold him accountable for the major setback in the Christmas production schedule. He would go back to his life of isolation and-

"No. Snap out of it, Jack. This isn't a good time," he grumbled, trying to stay focused on the task at hand. Soon, the sun was sinking into the frigid waters and darkness quickly swept over the land. No streams of golden dreamsand lit up the landscape due to the extreme lack of children in the area. With a sigh, he turned back to the Northern Hemisphere and his lake.

He had almost cleared Antarctica before his eyes picked up on a quick flash of white down on the ice. It was too fast to be any animal that he knew lived there, and without a second thought he set off in pursuit.

The flash of white led him on a wild chase through glaciers, clusters of animals snuggling for warmth, up through the clouds and the thin atmosphere, before landing on the tip of a huge glacier that towered high above the rest. Jack landed a few feet away from it and crept closer. It had a distinctly humanoid shape and was holding a large staff, very similar to his own except that it was made of a very, very dark wood. The moonlight above them continued to reveal more details about this mysterious person, no clouds there to block its light. It revealed bare feet, tattered gray pants, before creeping up to reveal a blue hoodie very similar to his own. Finally, it reached the face and Jack stepped back in shock. A pair of pale gray, almost white eyes met his own and an all too familiar smirk graced the other boy's face as he brushed aside a pair of snow white bangs.

"Hello, Jack. Recognize me?" the boy asked as the moonlight revealed Jack's extremely similar double.

* * *

**A/N: I think that's a good place to stop. And no, he isn't a clone or anything as you can tell from the very slight differences. I hope you enjoy this arc and don't forget to REVIEW! :D**


	7. Chapter 7: Who are You?

**A/N: All right, here's the next part of this arc! And the name will finally be revealed at last. I have a lot of time this week to update, but next week I start a driver's ed class so that's going to cut into my writing time unfortunately. I'll try to have this arc finished by then so there will be no cliffhangers to worry about!**

**I would like to thank **_**Blood Shifter2, Dolphy, Moonyi, Faeriefyre16, Anonymous568, **_**and **_**Sleepery **_**for the faves/follows! You guys rock!**

_**CassiaT**_**: Thanks! I wish I had more reviews, but I'm glad I at least have some! Can't be picky, I guess. **

_**AspergianStoryteller**_**: Yeah, it's called "Guardians of Childhood" by William Joyce. The movie was based off of the series.**

_**Sleepery**_**: I don't know how to respond to that lol but I'm going to assume that's a good reaction.**

**For the record, I'm going to do a little 'Previously' for each chapter in an arc to refresh your memory. All right, Chapter 7 has arrived!**

* * *

_Previously…_

_"Hello, Jack. Recognize me?" the boy asked as the moonlight revealed Jack's extremely similar double._

* * *

_Chapter 7: Who are you?_

Jack stared, his mouth slightly open, as his double approached. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" the boy asked, his voice a perfect replica of Jack's.

Finally, he snapped out of his daze and raised his staff defensively. "Who are you? How do you know my name? And why do you look like me?" he demanded, a surprising surge of anger welling inside him.

"It's hard not to know who you are. Jack Frost, the Spirit of Winter, the claimer of the coveted spot as Guardian. The whole spirit world knows you, except for the few who live under rocks," the stranger replied calmly, leaning casually against his dark staff only a few feet away from Jack.

"You haven't answered my other questions. Who are you?" Jack asked again, impatient at the other spirit's nonchalance and slowness in answering his questions.

The boy chuckled, sending shivers down Jack's spine as it sounded exactly like his own except with a darker tint to it. "Who am I, you ask? Of course you wouldn't bother learning who I am. You don't know who any of us are, do you? I suppose that comes with belonging to the high and mighty Guardians, you don't take any notice of other, _lesser _spirits but I thought you would have been different. After all, they ignored you for 300 years, but clearly that hasn't caused you to give any consideration to other spirits below you," he sneered.

"Look, if you have an issue with me, just spit it out. And tell me who you are!" Jack growled, ready to just freeze the stranger and be done with him.

The boy gave a dramatic sigh and turned to face the edge of the glacier they were standing on. "Fine, fine. My name is Frio. I am one of the Facets of Winter. I represent the Facet of Ice, which unfortunately gave me a resemblance to you," he replied.

Jack frowned, confused. "Facets of Winter?" he questioned, trying to recall any knowledge of that term but drawing a blank. Frio laughed and shook his head in amusement. "You really are quite clueless, aren't you? Very well, looks like I've got some explaining to do," he replied, before floating into the air and adopting a cross-legged position.

"You are not the only one who can command aspects of our glorious season. You, however, are the Spirit of Winter. You command the snow, ice, frost, blizzards, and everything else about it. Your connection with the Wind is very strong indeed. I, and the others like me, are part of the Facets of Winter. We had no life before this. Mother Nature created us from the snow and ice of our respective lands. I am from Siberia and that is where I am strongest. Here, I am weaker than I normally am, but I have managed to compensate for it. There are many Facets of Winter, but I won't bother naming them all. I am the Facet of Ice, and that is the only part that I can control. We can all fly with the Wind, but she doesn't have the same connection with us," Frio explained.

"Wait, wait, wait. So there are bunches of spirits of Winter that control a certain part in each of their sections? Does every season have one? And why do you have a Spanish name if you come from Siberia?" Jack asked trying to wrap his mind around the boatload of information he had been given.

"Why does everyone ask that?! I don't know why Mother gave me a Spanish name, she just did, okay? And yes, every season has their own Facets that give assistance to the main Spirit. We mainly operate in our own areas which makes your jobs a little bit easier. Not that you've ever noticed, of course. Our power over our individual Facet is stronger than yours because your power is spread amongst all the Facets," Frio replied, annoyed at how much he had to explain. All the other Spirits already knew all about this! Of course he had the misfortune to get stuck with the only ignorant spirit in existence.

Jack was silent, thinking about all of this. Now that he thought about it, certain parts of the world required much less attention on his part but he had thought nothing of it. Thinking about it now, it made a lot more sense. But if Frio controlled ice and had a strong resemblance to him, then that meant…

"It was you! You were the one who froze the yetis and elves!" Jack exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise.

"Good job, you _finally _figured it out. Gold star for you. Yes, it was me," Frio admitted, smirking slightly.

"Why would you do that? You could've ruined Christmas!" Jack yelled, anger flashing wildly in his blue eyes.

"I could have, yes. But you see I'm only trying to show you how foolish your trust in the Guardians really is. You're just like the rest of us. They only pay attention to us when it suits them, and now they're trying to get rid of you. I was just helping them a bit. Of course, you're the _only_ one who can ice things over. It's not like there's a bunch of other spirits who deserve credit too," Frio remarked sarcastically. "And now that they've turned their backs on you, you can join with us and help us get rid of those annoying Guardians! We can show them what happens when they ignore spirits for too long, spirits who have needed their help but were just turned aside," he continued ferociously.

Jack stared at him in shock. A part of him agreed with what Frio was saying and wanted to join them, but that part of him had grown smaller over the past year. Instead, a bigger, newer part urged him to side with the Guardians. Now that he was one of them, he could understand them more than he had before. They were so busy trying to help the children of the world, they couldn't run to the assistance of every single spirit who needed them. Granted, they could put in more of an effort, but they weren't as evil and heartless as Frio made them seem. They were his _friends_ now and no matter what they thought of him, he wouldn't turn against them.

"No. I won't help you," the young Guardian said, hands tightening around his staff. Frio looked at him in shock. "Excuse me? Have you forgotten that they turned you aside for 300 years?" he demanded angrily.

"No, I haven't. But I also haven't forgotten how remorseful they were, and still are. You haven't tried seeing this from their point of view!" Jack pointed out, hoping to avoid a conflict.

Frio scoffed at that. "You really think they're remorseful? It's just an act to make you trust them! That way it will hurt more when they finally cast you out," he sneered.

Jack shook his head. He just couldn't see North, Sandy, Tooth, or Bunny doing anything so heartless.

"They're good people. They've just made a lot of mistakes. I'm not going to help you hurt them," he said definitively. He raised his staff and pointed it at Frio. "Now back off before I turn you into a Friosicle," he threatened.

"You're threatening me with ice? Did you miss the part where I told you I'm stronger than you with my own Facet?" Frio snarled, before suddenly raising his staff and firing off a bolt of ice. Jack barely had time to avoid it, diving to the ground as it shot over his head. He hurriedly jumped to his feet and sent back his own attack. Frio blocked it easily and the two shot at each other, bolts of ice flying past. Jack whipped up a blizzard around them, obscuring Frio's vision as he flew up above the other spirit into the clouds. Frio snarled and fought his way past the whirlwind of snow. He forced his way to clear ground and stopped, searching for the Guardian.

Jack was still hiding among the clouds, positioning himself directly over the Facet of Ice. He tightened his grip on his staff before hurtling down through the clouds, aiming himself at the spirit. Frio looked up just in time to avoid being whacked in the head by the crook of Jack's staff. "It's time to end this, Guardian," he spat out as he intensified his attacks. Finally, he managed to direct a beam of ice at Jack's hand, blasting his staff away. Before he could reach it, Frio had sent another bolt that froze his feet to the ground. Jack frantically tried to reach his staff, but his efforts proved to be fruitless. He was just barely an inch away from reaching it, but he couldn't stretch forward anymore.

Frio began to direct the ice upwards, freezing Jack's legs and soon his torso. As the ice crept over his arms and up to his neck, Jack glared at Frio the best he could. "You're going to regret this. The Guardians will know what happened and they'll stop you," he snarled.

This only caused Frio to let out a small chuckle. "And who's going to tell them? You? The great Spirit of Winter who is currently becoming an icicle? Yeah, I'm so scared now. Why don't I just surrender to you now, eh?" he taunted, spreading the ice further until it covered Jack's mouth completely.

"Don't worry, I'll unfreeze you when your little friends have been taken down by the rest of us. Enjoy your freezer time," he sneered as the ice crept over Jack's nose, eyes, and finally reached the top of his head, completely freezing the Spirit of Winter. Frio grinned, before striding over to Jack's staff and picking it up. "You won't be needing this anymore," he said to the immobile spirit before chucking it over the edge of the glacier. It landed with a small splash and slowly sank below the waves as the Facet of Ice rose into the air and soared off above the waves. It was time to gather his army.

* * *

**A/N: Well, this went in a different direction than I was expecting. I was originally planning Frio to just be mad at Jack for forgetting them, but then it became anger at the Guardians and now there's a potential war… yep, this is gonna be interesting to write. And in case you were wondering, Frio is Spanish for 'cold' according to my friend so if this isn't accurate, my apologies. I trust her though so I'm sure it's right. **** Don't forget to review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Hopeless doesn't Helpless

**A/N: Hello again! Before this next chapter I would like to say that **_**The Lone Ranger**_** is a really good movie, despite what the critics say, and the music is absolutely fantastic! I highly recommend it to everyone out there. Okay, got that out of the way. After reading the last chapter, I realized that I took away the chance of one of my ideas happening so I'll have to improvise. We'll see how it goes.**

**Thanks to **_**rchlanne, werekit, Pokematic7, WRATH77, **_**and **_**Silence is Pleasure **_**for the faves/follows!**_** (I apologize if I have missed anyone)**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters, blah blah blah.**

**Onto Chapter 8! Don't forget to review with comments, suggestions, prompts, etc.**

* * *

_Previously…_

"Don't worry, I'll unfreeze you when your little friends have been taken down by the rest of us. Enjoy your freezer time," he sneered as the ice crept over Jack's nose, eyes, and finally reached the top of his head, completely freezing the Spirit of Winter. Frio grinned, before striding over to Jack's staff and picking it up. "You won't be needing this anymore," he said to the immobile spirit before chucking it over the edge of the glacier. It landed with a small splash and slowly sank below the waves as the Facet of Ice rose into the air and soared off above the waves. It was time to gather his army.

* * *

_Chapter 8: Hopeless doesn't equal Helpless_

The Guardians were stumped. They had spent the last three hours tossing theories and possible explanations back and forth but nothing seemed accurate. The work in the Workshop had resumed at a frantic pace and now the sounds of clinking and tinkering were echoing in the background.

"Ugh, this is hopeless. I'm sorry mates, but I can't think of any other plausible explanations. Jack has to be responsible for this, as much as we don't like to accept it," Bunny said somewhat sadly, ceasing his pacing.

"But Jack would never do that!" Tooth protested. Sandy made a figure of Jack and then an 'X' over it, agreeing with Tooth.

"What other reason is there? We know what the yetis saw!" Bunny snapped, his temper beginning to erupt past his emotional shields.

"They could've been mistaken! We don't know how long they were there. Their memories could have been distorted," Tooth shot back.

"You know more about memories than anyone. Do you honestly think every single yeti's memory would have been distorted in the _same way_?" Bunny pointed out.

"Enough! This bickering is pointless and we do not have any solutions. I do not want to point the finger of blame at Jack, but we may not have any other choice. Besides, is not like we have to punish him very much," North interrupted, standing from his armchair and pushing between the arguing Guardians.

While Bunny and Tooth turned to look at North, Sandy glanced out the window and froze. He peered out, trying to make sense of what he was seeing, before turning back to the others and frantically waved his hands. No one noticed. He blew out some sand in frustration. He was _not _going to resort to shaking an elf this time. Instead, he marched right up in front of the others' faces and waved his hands, effectively capturing their attention.

"What is it, Sandy? You have idea?" North asked eagerly. He shook his head and frantically gestured to the window. The others all hurried over to it and looked out into the darkening sky. A collective gasp emanated from all three as they realized what they were seeing.

"That is not good. Not good at all," North muttered, before turning to the yetis and snapping out orders to batten down the hatches.

"Not good is an understatement here, mate," Bunny mumbled, sharing a concerned glance with Tooth before they turned back out to the rapidly approaching wave of snow and ice that threatened to completely engulf the North Pole.

* * *

Jack was furious. Furious at himself for getting stuck in this mess, at Frio for freezing him solid with little effort, at Manny for not telling him about these Facets who clearly posed a threat, and at the Guardians for stirring up the other spirits' wrath in the first place. He knew he should probably be focusing on more important things, such as _unfreezing himself_, but he allowed himself the silent rant since he clearly wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.

His staff was down somewhere in the ocean, still intact from what he could sense, but getting it back would mean diving down beneath the freezing waves. It would also mean getting himself out of this icecube he was currently stuck in.

The young Guardian had been stuck for at least an hour, giving Frio and his forces plenty of time to start their assault on the unsuspecting Guardians. Without Jack, they wouldn't stand a chance. Heck, even if he _was _there, they _still _wouldn't stand a chance. No. Now was not the time for pessimism. There'd be plenty of time for that once he was free. Focusing on the current problem would be better than wallowing in anger.

The thin rays of the sun shown down on him, mocking him with their freedom of movement. They weren't anywhere near strong enough to melt his frozen prison, but if he could somehow channel the heat from somewhere else…

No. The only way he could do that was by calling the Wind, but she couldn't reach him through the ice around him. He could distantly hear her whistling around him frantically, trying to search for a break in the ice. A sudden _crack_ tore him from his thoughts and he turned his attention to a large chunk of ice that had suddenly broken off from him, right in front of his mouth. If he could just get that last thin layer to melt away, then he could tell the Wind how to help him.

As if picking up on his thoughts, the Wind's ferocity increased and more small chunks of ice broke away from him. Of course, simple erosion Jack realized, as the Wind began to concentrate into more specific places, such as his head and mouth. For the next half hour, she whittled away at the ice until his head was completely free. After forcibly forcing his lips apart, Jack had finally regained speech.

"Wind! Channel currents from the equator down here, that will help speed up the process," Jack called. The Wind gently caressed his cheek before shooting off across the barren landscape. It took another ten minutes for her to return, bearing the heat of the equator with her. Jack felt the dryness of deserts and the humidity of rain forests whirling around him, quickly melting the ice until he was able to break away from the rest of it and fully escape.

"Finally! That's one experience I never want to have again," Jack muttered, stretching his stiff muscles before looking around him. Without his staff, he couldn't fly, couldn't use his powers, couldn't really do anything. He sighed and walked to the edge of the glacier. Far below somewhere, his staff was floating on the waves but he couldn't see any hint of brown amongst the blue and white. The situation seemed rather hopeless.

"No, stop that Jack, you're not completely helpless. What do you have?" Jack mumbled, reverting back to old habits. "I can move again, I still have the Wind, but I have absolutely no way of contacting the Guardians or any other spirits for that matter," he continued, trying to find one bright spot in his dark situation.

He began to pace back and forth along the glacier, contemplating the idea of just walking and using an iceberg to get himself to the North Pole, but his common sense rejected the idea. The berg would just melt as soon as he reached warmer waters and the prospect of trying to learn to swim in the middle of the ocean was completely unappealing. Just as he let out a sigh of defeat, something whacked him in the back of the head, causing him to stumble forward a few steps. Whirling around, arms in a defensive position, he saw nothing but white.

As he lowered his arms, something nudged his foot. Looking down, he gasped in surprise as his familiar staff lay at his feet, albeit a bit worn from its dip in the waves. The Wind swirled around him excitedly, reminding him of a puppy trying to please its master. It lifted the staff into the air again and practically threw it in his face. He grabbed it quickly, relishing the feel of the familiar surface between his fingers.

"Thanks Wind! Now, let's go find the Guardians. We've got a battle to stop," the winter spirit called as he was lifted into the air and propelled towards the North Pole.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I now know where this is going for sure. There'll be a few more chapters of this arc, and then it's back to oneshots! I have a couple of ideas, but I would love having some from my lovely readers. Feel free to review! Just click the button! It's not difficult.**


	9. Chapter 9: Fight or Flight

**A/N: Hello again! It is a beautiful sunny day here in my location which is good since I'm going swimming in a lake! There are never enough opportunities to swim during the summer. Anyways, I'm suffering some emotional backlash after reading another fanfic so I'm crying my eyes out as I write this to distract myself. Hopefully nothing leaks through into this. **

**I've started adding titles to the actual chapters when I upload, but chapter 8's title is too long so that's why it's missing a word. Just in case anyone noticed.**

**I would like to thank **_**Dreamcreator, Amazing-Thalia-Grace, Bay2929, JustARunaway, Fireena, **_**and **_**jasdevi's secret sissy **_**for the faves/follows! :D**

_**Amazing-Thalia-Grace: **_**I like your username! And it doesn't matter if there's more chapters, I still love reviews. Interesting idea, I might have to use that. I do like the idea of a friendly Pitch since he's so much more entertaining to read about that way. I've read several good stories like that which are always really fun.**

_**Jasdevi's secret sissy: **_**Yes, yes he is. **

**Disclaimer: I thought I've made it clear already. I do not own. Not now, not ever.**

* * *

_Previously…_

_As he lowered his arms, something nudged his foot. Looking down, he gasped in surprise as his familiar staff lay at his feet, albeit a bit worn from its dip in the waves. The Wind swirled around him excitedly, reminding him of a puppy trying to please its master. It lifted the staff into the air again and practically threw it in his face. He grabbed it quickly, relishing the feel of the familiar surface between his fingers._

_"Thanks Wind! Now, let's go find the Guardians. We've got a battle to stop," the winter spirit called as he was lifted into the air and propelled towards the North Pole._

* * *

_Chapter 9: Fight or Flight_

If one were to go to the North Pole right now, one would find a flurry of activity. Yetis, elves, mini fairies, walking eggs, and Guardians were all rushing every which way. Tooth and Bunny had brought their followers to the Pole to help establish defenses before they would take shelter in the Warren. North and Tooth were running through their checklist while Bunny and Sandy kept an eye on the approaching ice storm.

"Doors and windows locked?" "Check!"

"Nobody outside or in sleigh tunnels?" "Check!"

"Plenty of cookies and eggnog on standby?" "Che- wait, cookies? You're thinking about cookies at a time like this?!" Tooth screamed, only an inch away from North's face. He flinched back in surprise.

"Of course! No sense going hungry, eh?" he replied with a chuckle. "Only you could laugh at a time like this, North," Bunny grumbled from the window.

Sandy formed a happy face, and then a snowflake. "Jack too, if he was here," North translated.

"You don't think he's behind this, do you?" Tooth asked, fluttering over.

"It's either him or Mother Nature, and last time I checked, she had no grudge against us," Bunny pointed out.

"But why? He wouldn't intentionally cause destruction on this scale and that clearly is not accidental," Tooth said as she pointed out the window. Everyone turned to gaze out the window sadly, unsure of how to reply.

Suddenly, they all stiffened as a dark figure emerged from the storm. He was carrying a familiar staff over his shoulder, and he seemed completely at ease with the chaos around him.

"I… I don't believe it. It _is_ Jack," North whispered, shock and sadness crossing his face. They watched the figure float up into the storm, losing sight of him amongst the swirls of white.

"Guardians! Are you hiding in there like the cowards you are?" a voice yelled out, startlingly loud. It was familiar, yet not quite the voice they knew. They all exchanged worried glances. "How do we reply? It's not like we can open a window," Bunny muttered, glaring out at the storm.

"I have megaphone that reaches the outside," North said as he pulled down a long copper tube from the ceiling by using a large pole. It had a hole at the end which was clearly where one would speak through. Bunny grabbed it and held it to his mouth.

"All right Frost, when did you go off the deep end? This is absolutely nutters, mate, and you've got to stop!" he yelled, his voice magnified across the snowy landscape.

"Stop? Why should I when I've got all of you stuck in there?" the voice replied.

"Stuck in here? Have you forgotten who I am already?" Bunny questioned, opening a hole nearby for the eggs and fairies to retreat down.

"Of course I haven't, you stupid idiot. However, I know you won't abandon your precious Pole to be destroyed. After all, Christmas is only a few weeks away, is it not?" the figure called back.

"Bunny! Look!" Tooth hissed, pointing back out the window where the other two were already looking. More figures were emerging from the storm, different elements responding to each one. The floating figure seemed to attract the icicles swirling around, while one of the ones on the ground had a cocoon of snow swirling around them. Another had cold gusts of air whooshing past them.

Sandy's eyes widened as he recognized who they must be and he turned to the other three in alarm. "What is it Sandy? You know something?" North asked, seeing the look in the man's eyes. He nodded and began to form symbols. The first was of a calendar which showed December, January, and February. "Winter," Tooth guessed. Sandy nodded and then showed the calendar splitting into several different pieces.

"It's broken?" Bunny asked, confused. Sandy shook his head and turned each piece into a different shape. A snow flake, an icicle, a gust of wind, an avalanche, a mountain, and other wintery shapes floated over his head. Tooth's eyes widened as she realized what he was talking about.

"The Facets… that's them? The Facets of Winter?" she whispered quietly. He nodded in confirmation. A gloomy silence fell over them all as they realized that they would have to fight Winter itself, in all it's different forms.

"Wait, wait, wait. How come Jack's never mentioned them before?" Bunny asked, looking back out to spot their friend in the approaching wave of snow and ice.

"I didn't think he knew about them. I guess we were wrong," Tooth replied sadly.

"Wait. What was our original argument against him? That he was the only one who could've frozen the yetis and elves, correct? Clearly, that is no longer the case. So maybe it was one of these Facets who did it instead," North exclaimed suddenly. The other three perked up in realization.

"Of course! It makes sense! That's why Jack seemed so clueless. He never had anything to do with this at all," Tooth cried out happily, before realizing what she had said and slowly landed as guilt swelled within her.

"We thought it was him. We blamed him for it," she murmured. The others stopped and bowed their heads briefly before they were interrupted.

"As fun as it is seeing you all drown in your guilt, I'd much rather see you all pay for looking down at us as dirt beneath your feet," the Facet yelled suddenly, having seen the whole scene through the windows, despite all the flying obstacles.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get," Bunny shouted back, grabbing his boomerangs and hopping to the window.

The figure grinned as his army advanced. "Very well, rabbit. Prepare to meet your end," he snarled. With a great _whoosh_, he and the others began to race forward, sending their powers ahead in a great tidal wave to engulf the North Pole.

* * *

**A/N: And that's that! There's only two more chapters left in this arc assuming everything goes according to plan. But nothing about this has turned out like I had originally planned. There wasn't going to be any Facets or war or anything like that. But I like the way it's going so oh well!**

**Don't forget to review! **


	10. Chapter 10: Shield of Ice and Fire

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I just started Driver's Ed on Monday and it's taking away a lot of time I spend on chores and practicing my instrument so I've been a bit preoccupied. But I'm back for now, and ready to update! **** And a quick note: if you have any ideas on what other Facets could be, let me know cuz I have limited ideas and I'd love to hear what you come up with.**

**Thank you **_**Kiearrah Mai Rhone, livingwithbooks, sohrem666, Dark Red Rabbit, **_**and **_**nique17**_** for the faves/follows! Seriously, I love getting those emails, they make me extremely happy so a big thank you to everyone who has favorited and/or followed this story so far. You keep me writing!**

_**Sleepery: **_**Good! That is my intent. It's better than being bored, right?**

_**Kiearrah Mai Rhone: **_**Thanks! I definitely will!**

_**Jasdevi's secret sissy: **_**That's what keeps going through my mind when stuff happens that I didn't intend in this story.**

_**Sohrem666: **_**Thanks!**

**Okay, that's done. THANK YOU REVIEWERS! Onto the story. But first…**

**DISCLAIMER: As usual, I still have not had the opportunity to purchase any ROTG characters so I do not own them… yet.**

* * *

_Previously…_

_The figure grinned as his army advanced. "Very well, rabbit. Prepare to meet your end," he snarled. With a great__whoosh__, he and the others began to race forward, sending their powers ahead in a great tidal wave to engulf the North Pole._

* * *

_Chapter 10: Shields of Fire and Ice_

"North! It's almost here! Are you ready?" Tooth yelled, watching the wave of all things Winter rapidly approaching, only a few hundred feet from reaching them.

"No, but we have no choice. Phil! Activate the fire shield," North hollered at the yeti standing next to a rapidly built contraption that still had wires exposed and lacked all the proper safety equipment. Phil grabbed a large red lever and pulled down, activating the cannon like object that was directed out the window. A long stream of fire shot out from the end and began splitting into several thick strands that formed themselves into a large dome around the Pole. The wave of ice was halted in its tracks, unable to stand the heat.

"Ha! Is working perfectly," North declared triumphantly. Sandy, who was outside monitoring the shield, quickly flew back in, hazard signs and exclamation points dancing all around his head. The other Guardians turned to the window to see the fire quickly going out from the top down. Within a few seconds, it had all disappeared.

"Talk about counting your chickens early. What happened?" Bunny demanded, eyeing the wave that had once again began to move, but slowly as it struggled to regain its lost momentum.

North listened to Phil's frantic warbling before turning back to the Guardian of Hope. "It seems that we lacked the proper amount of fuel for sustaining such a shield," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Bunny threw his hands up in exasperation. "Great, just great! Now we get to become bloody snowmen," he grumbled.

"If only Jack was here! He could help us," Tooth murmured sadly, wings drooping as her fluttering slowed.

"He could, but he's not here and we can't do anything about that now, Tooth. We need to prepare to fight. Heck, this conversation is taking too long as it is," Bunny told her, unusually soft and gentle.

She nodded and pulled herself together, balling her hands into fists as she turned to the window, ready to face down the enemy. The other three stood beside her, ready to make their stand. Hopefully it would not be their final one.

* * *

Frio hovered outside, watching his progress with satisfaction. The Guardians' pitiful shield had failed and they were now vulnerable. The attack had waited long enough. "Facets! Are you ready?" he yelled down to his companions, who preferred to operate from the ground. He had the best ability to fly, probably due to his uncanny resemblance to the blasted Winter Spirit.

They all shouted their affirmative, the cool gusts of air swirling harder than ever. Frio nodded, grinning, and then gave the command they had all been waiting for.

"Attack!"

As one, they all rushed forward, ready to destroy the North Pole and everyone in it. They were only a hundred feet away… now sixty… forty… twenty. Frio rushed ahead of them all, eager to strike the Pole and unleash his revenge. He formed icicles in his hand and he threw them at the window. Soon, he would hear the glorious shatter of glass and, hopefully, the thud of ice into a body. But he heard nothing. Refocusing his attention on the window, he saw his icicles sticking out of… a wall of ice.

Frio's eyes widened as he slowly realized what had happened. The only other spirit who could control ice… "Hey Frio! Back away before you become a spirit Popsicle," a familiar voice shouted at him. He looked up, snarling, as Jack Frost flew down and positioned himself between Frio and the Pole. Behind him, a wall of ice encircled the Pole in a shiny dome, similar to what the fire shield had done.

"You shouldn't be here! Why are you interfering in this?" Frio yelled, gesturing to the other Facets to try and break through the ice wall. He knew he could easily do it, but he had a certain spirit to remove first.

"You're hurting my friends, and I can't allow you to do that. Now call off your attack," Jack ordered, unusually serious.

"Or what?" Frio taunted, crossing his arms.

"Or I'll do it myself. But I'm sure the other Facets would be more likely to listen to you," he replied calmly, his icy blue eyes fixing on Frio's white ones. Frio glared back, not backing down.

"Now why would I call them off? This is what I've been waiting for and deep down, you have too. Join your true kind and we can take down these Guardians together," he offered.

"I've been thinking about your offer. It's true that the Guardians left me alone for 300 years, but then so did you. I know I've been around longer, but the Facets were created by Mother Nature with their purposes in mind. You could have sought me out, but you didn't. So why should I join you now?" Jack challenged, mimicking Frio's stance and crossing his arms too.

"You never asked us for help. We would have been willing had we known that you were… uncertain of your path," Frio answered, hiding the flash of panic in his eyes. He didn't want to fight Jack again, but he would if he had to.

"And if I had come to you, no doubt I would be standing down there or up here at your side, ready to attack the Guardians too. But that's not what happened, and we have to deal with it. Now stand down," he ordered.

"No," Frio snapped, deciding that a fight was inevitable. Jack shrugged and, before Frio knew what was happening, the entire ice dome suddenly expanded outwards. The ice disappeared as it hit Jack, reforming just in time to collide with Frio and the other Facets. They were all sent tumbling backwards, not expecting the wall to suddenly move. Frio tumbled to the ground and Jack landed beside him, plucking his staff from his grip before he could move.

"Give it back," Frio snarled, scrambling to his feet and grabbing at his staff. Jack stepped back, moving the dark staff out of reach.

"No," he replied, mimicking Frio once again. He quickly froze Frio's feet to the ground before slowly approaching. He kept glancing at the other Facets, ready for one of them to attack but none did. They all just watched, unsure of what to do next.

"Frio, stop this. We don't have to fight. I'm sure I can make the Guardians see how wrong it was to just ignore you. They've been trying to change their ways. This war can be avoided right now," Jack said softly.

Frio scoffed. "You may delay it for now, but a war is inevitable. There are many, many spirits who are bitter at the Guardians for looking down from their high and mighty pedestals. If not us, then it will be others who try to destroy the Guardians," he sneered.

Jack sighed. "That may be true, but revenge won't get anyone anywhere. It would only open the door to Pitch and that will be far worse than what you've already gone through. We shouldn't fight. Besides, the Guardians and I are fully ready to defend against any attack you might try. It's better not to waste your resources," he said, hoping to break through his doppelganger's stubborn shell.

Frio regarded him for a moment, before turning as another Facet approaching him. It was a young girl, her light blond hair trailing down to her waist. She wore a simple blue dress, and her skin was a creamy white. She smelled faintly of evergreen trees and pine needles.

"Frio, can't we stop? None of us truly wish to fight the Guardians besides you," she asked softly, laying a hand on his arm. He looked at her, startled. "Zima, you don't know what you're saying. These Guardians-," he started, but she shook her head.

"Frio, your anger has blinded you to what's real. We have followed you because we believed we shared your anger, but the Guardians have had ample opportunity to hurt us now as we have been slightly weakened from the shield but we have not been harmed. They do not wish to fight either, and maybe that's something we need to agree on," she said softly.

She turned to Jack and inclined her head in a gesture of respect. "I am sorry, Bringer of Winter. We did not mean to harm you in this, for you are a part of Winter like the rest of us," she apologized. He smiled softly at her.

"I do not hold a grudge against any of you. I can understand how you all feel, I was there. But we can choose to put this aside now and live our lives peacefully. What Facet are you anyway?" he asked curiously.

"I am Zima, the Facet of the Winter Forest. The forest changes in winter and I help bring that change to pine forests across the world, but I mainly reside in the Czech Republic," she answered. He nodded and turned back to Frio.

"The way I see it, you're the only one who really wants to fight. I get the feeling your followers aren't going to follow you as far as you would want them to. There is no shame in stopping now," Jack said, sensing Frio's wavering walls.

The Facet of Ice bowed his head and looked at his feet for a moment before straightening and looking at the other Facets who had approached. "Is that what the rest of you want? To give up our cause against the Guardians?" he asked, searching for any supporters. He found none as the rest of them nodded, relief showing in their faces.

He sighed and turned back to Jack. "What good is a leader without his army? It seems that I have been outvoted. We will leave, Spirit of Winter. Perhaps in time we can learn to exist peacefully with each other. But that will take some time, so for now we will stay out of each other's path," he decided.

Jack inclined his head and grinned. "See, things can be worked out diplomatically. Now Bunny can't say I'm never diplomatic!" he exclaimed, cheering up and reverting back to his usual self.

Frio turned to the other Facets, communicating silently before they began to back away.

"We will be taking our leave now, Spirit of Winter. Until next time," he said, bowing his head before turning to the others. One of the Facets, probably the Facet of Snow, created a swirling vortex out of the white crystals which the others stepped through one by one. Frio and Zima were the last to go, turning back to Jack once more before leaving.

As the portal closed, Jack exhaled the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He could feel all the tension leave his body as what could have been a disastrous fight had been averted. Now it was time to face his fellow Guardians.

* * *

**A/N: And another chapter has been completed! I'm sorry if you were hoping for a big, epic battle between them all but the characters decided not to have it. There'll be fights later on in this series of stories, but not in this arc. So originally, Frio was going to be a recurring bad guy, but now he's really not so I'll have to make another one. Pitch isn't going to be that much of a villain here, just letting you know. Anyways, there'll be one more chapter to this arc, involving the Guardians and they're reactions to everything, and then more stories! Send requests pretty please, and don't forget to review.**


	11. Chapter 11: Familial Ties

**A/N: I found time to write today! Yay! I can finish this arc at last and then return to one shots. **** As always, send ideas if you have any good ones. My imagination can only go so far!**

**Thank you **_**Sniper at work**_** for the follow!**

_**Kiearrah Mai Rhone: **_**Thanks! I try not to let things get too slow or not serious enough and I'm glad to see I've been successful so far.**

**I'm writing this while the finale song/final train battle song from the Lone Ranger goes through my head which doesn't really fit this chapter at all. Oh well. **** Also, sorry if the time is off, if it was sunset earlier and now it's still sunset or whatever.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine. Clear?**

* * *

_Previously…_

_As the portal closed, Jack exhaled the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He could feel all the tension leave his body as what could have been a disastrous fight had been averted. Now it was time to face his fellow Guardians._

* * *

_Chapter 11: Familial ties_

While the confrontation had been going on outside, the Guardians were still waiting for the fight of their lives. They knew how dangerous Winter Spirits could be, especially the Facets, and the fact that the Pole hadn't been buried beneath snow and ice yet was a bit surprising. Okay, a _lot _surprising.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Bunny snapped, feeling on edge from all this waiting. He just wanted to _fight_ and get it over with!

"Something is blocking the snow wave," Tooth mumbled, trying to see what was happening through the window and the rapidly darkening sky.

"Blocking it? I thought our shield failed," the rabbit replied, hopping over to her, paws still gripping the boomerangs tightly.

"It did. Pole has no other shields I am aware of," North called over from where he was examining the fire shield cannon.

Sandy, who had more experience in seeing through the dark sky, suddenly flew up in front of them, snowflakes swirling over his head.

"Yeah, Sandy, there's a lot of snow. What's your point?" Bunny asked, trying to figure out what his fellow Guardian was saying. Sandy shook his head and made a familiar figure.

"Jack? Is he out there?" Tooth asked, peering at the group of dark figures down below on the ground. There seemed to be an extra one who was talking, when the shield of ice suddenly expanded outward and knocked the others down.

"Seeing as it's attacking their own side, I doubt that was any of those ridiculous Facets," Bunny muttered, part of him disappointed at the apparent lack of fighting he would be doing. None of the others replied as they watched the situation outside. The figures were talking for a while, two apart from the others. After a while, a third joined them and then a snow portal opened. The other figures went through, followed by two of the separate trio. By now, the Guardians could recognize the familiar staff that the lone figure held as he turned towards them and was carried up by the Wind.

"Quick! Open window," North ordered. Tooth, who was closest, hurriedly lifted it as Jack came flying through in a burst of snow and a cool chill. Bunny shivered and quickly closed it behind the winter spirit, protecting himself against the Arctic temperatures outside.

"Jack! You're okay!" Tooth exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around him and squeezing the air out of his lungs. He stood there awkwardly before she released him from her embrace.

"Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?" he muttered, not looking at any of them, hood covering his face.

Sandy flew closer and formed the other four Guardians and then a sad face, before showing them hugging Jack. His face was a mixture of apologetic and guilt.

"Sandy is right. We are sorry, Jack. We should not have blamed you," North told him gravely.

Jack just shrugged his shoulders. "It's fine. I would've done the same thing if I were you," he mumbled.

"No, mate, it's not fine. We were wrong, again," Bunny said, his ears lowering down to his head. "We blamed you for Easter and now for Christmas. We just can't seem to be right about anything," he admitted sorrowfully.

Jack sighed. "I just can't believe you guys thought I would do something like this. I do have a limit for pranks you know," he told them, finally looking up and shrugging his hood off, revealing sad blue eyes.

"We know, Jack, and we're really sorry. We thought all the facts pointed to you," Tooth said, eyes downcast. Jack just looked at her, before looking around at the others. They all had sad and guilty faces, eyes boring holes into the floor.

"Promise you guys won't do this again?" he asked quietly. They all lifted their heads quickly and nodded. North stepped forward and quickly embraced him. "We promise. We are family, and family makes mistakes, but we can learn from them and grow closer," he said quietly. Tooth fluttered closer and wrapped her arms around Jack too, followed by Sandy and a seemingly reluctant Bunny who actually had no reservations about this show of emotion.

Jack smiled softly, feeling the love of the others around him. He wasn't used to such guilt when he had been wronged and it was refreshing after his previous experiences.

"All right, well, before this gets any sappier, I have a season to deliver," Jack said quickly, ending the mood. They all stepped backwards and he grinned.

"For future reference, the Facets and I have managed to negotiate a sort of treaty I guess. You probably won't see them much for a while, but with Frio's bloodlust quelled, there shouldn't be any violence," he told them.

Bunny snorted at that. "You negotiated? You ain't diplomatic!" he scoffed.

"Proves how much you know Kangaroo," Jack retorted, sticking his tongue out at him.

"One more question before you leave, Jack. How come that Facet- Frio- looks so much like you?" North asked curiously, still trying to figure out why two spirits had such a resemblance to each other.

Jack thought about it a moment before answering. "With other Facets, they're usually good sides or bad sides of Winter. It doesn't mean the actual spirits are, of course, from what I understand. But Frio controls ice and ice can be good or bad. It causes injury and death, sure, but it lets people go skating and have fun. Just like Winter in itself is good and bad. I don't really know why he looks like me, maybe it's Mother Nature's sense of humor. But now you know to look twice to see if I'm really me, right?" he answered, grinning cheekily.

"I don't think we'll need to look, mate. It ain't hard to tell if you're you," Bunny replied.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now I'll be off," Jack said happily, before turning to the window and prepared to leap out.

"Be careful, Jack," North warned as he pulled his staff out beside him. He turned back, smiled, and then he was gone, riding the Wind into the dawn of a new day.

* * *

**A/N: Not sure I'm satisfied with that ending, but oh well. And yes, I know the night passed insanely fast, I don't really care. **** Now I am free to go to other ideas! I have a little list developing which should keep me going for a while. I have no driver's ed tomorrow so plan on an update. Don't forget to review!**


	12. Chapter 12: Pharyngitis

**A/N: First off, let me say that I'm REALLY REALLY sorry for not updating on Friday like I said I would. Things got kind of hectic and then my muse took the day (and weekend) off to go who knows where. But I'm updating today! Yay! This is an idea that I haven't seen anyone do yet but I think it will be quite amusing to write so we'll see how it goes.**

**Thanks to: **_**Caithlinn13, sprinkles888, sugarart, Alternateapocalypse, xXHalfPrinceXx, Blackfox Nightengale, WannaBeDragonlord, Artemisia Selene, **_**and **_**RentGirl24**_** for the beauteous faves/follows! My driving instructor uses 'beauteous' all the time and it seemed an apt description.**

**Just a heads up to reviewers, even though I get your reviews from later chapters, I'll reply on the A/N of the most current chapter so if you don't see a response pop up for a while, that's why. I still love your reviews!**

_**AlterEgoAlienScars: **_**Haha, I liked your reaction. **** And lucky for you, you didn't have to wait as long for updates unless you went back and reviewed late or something in the arc.**

_**Kiearrah Mai Rhone: **_**Thanks! I try not to be too hard on myself because from what I've seen, it never helps anyone, but yeah it's hard not to be overly critical sometimes. But I'm really glad you liked it. **

_**Jasdevi's secret sissy: **_**Yay! Thanks!**

**And I believe that is everyone. I'm really sorry if I accidentally missed someone's name or review. I'm fairly certain I got you all, but mistakes happen. Just let me know if I do and I'll include you in the next chapter. Now, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: My name is not on the certifications of ownership. So apparently I don't own it. Any of it.**

* * *

_Chapter 12: Pharyngitis_

_Post-movie_

It was two years after Jack had joined the Guardians. All was calm, regarding Pitch and other assorted spirits, hostile or otherwise. This, however, meant that the monthly meetings between the five of them had become increasingly dull. Tooth collection was as efficient as ever, the distribution of dreams worldwide encountered less disturbance from nightmares, and it was the middle of Northern summer which meant that Bunny had nothing to report on, and it was not quite time to step up the production of Christmas toys. As for Jack, Southern winter was never quite as exciting as it was in the North, but he still made the effort to spread fun to children and hopefully gain more believers. Still, that didn't make the meetings any more interesting.

It was on one of these meeting days that something finally happened, something that pleased Bunny greatly. No one had realized anything was amiss at first, but they soon picked up on something out of the ordinary. North, Tooth, and Sandy had all presented their reports and it was Bunny's turn. This in itself was nothing unusual, except for the fact that Jack didn't interrupt. Not once. They all kept sneaking glances at him, to see if he had fallen asleep as usual, but his eyes were open and he was staring at Bunny, apparently listening quite intently. Occasionally, he looked like he wanted to say something and opened his mouth, but nothing came out and he closed it again.

This bothered Bunny more and more, and as he finished discussing his new designs for eggs, which always prompted a response from Jack, he finally had enough.

"All right, Frost, what's going on?" he demanded. Jack looked up at him, a confused expression on his face but he didn't reply.

"Oh don't give me that look. You haven't said a word this whole time and I want to know why," Bunny snapped, crossing his arms in his best no-nonsense position. The winter spirit looked at him for a moment, before pointing at Sandy and then himself.

"We do not understand. What does Sandy have to do with this?" North asked, entering the conversation. Sandy mulled it over for a bit while Jack struggled to explain without words, before straightening up and formed a sand image of a mouth talking with sound waves coming out, a snowflake, and the waves disappeared.

Tooth was the first to pick up on his meaning. "Oh! You can't talk?" she asked, looking at Jack in concern. He nodded, relieved that someone had finally picked up on it.

Bunny lasted an impressive two seconds before bursting out laughing. "Yes! Finally, Frostbite can't talk!" he cheered. Jack just glared and crossed his arms, clearly not amused.

"Phil! Bring paper and pencil so Jack may explain how this has happened," North called to the yeti who garbled a response and left the meeting room.

"Were you attacked or something?" Tooth asked, feeling her mothering instincts rising up as she inspected Jack closely, looking for any signs of battle. He shook his head frantically, calming her down some but not much.

"He's fine, Toothie. Let's just enjoy this wonderful day of peace and quiet," Bunny said, his reassuring tone overshadowed by the huge grin on his face.

"Bunny, this isn't funny! What if he can't talk again?" Tooth snapped, feathers lifting slightly. He quickly raised his paws to calm the fairy down. "Whoa, calm down Sheila. I don't think he'll be like this for too long, unfortunately," he said quickly. Jack nodded quickly, agreeing with Bunny.

Just then, Phil returned with a small notepad and a pencil. Jack accepted them gratefully and quickly scribbled down something, before holding it up for the others to read.

'Pharyngitis. Lost my voice.'

Sandy nodded sympathetically, having seen many afflicted by it. He formed a clock over his head and a calendar. Jack thought for a minute before scribbling his response.

'It's been like this the past two days. I'll probably have it back tomorrow, ending Bunny's period of joy' the paper said. Bunny scowled in response, but then resumed his happy expression.

"Hey, I plan on enjoying a day of not being called Kangaroo. It'll make a nice change," he said, ignoring Jack sticking his tongue out at him.

"Well, if simply sore throat, we have medicine here that should help the inflammation in your throat. With any luck, your voice could be back by the end of the day," North offered.

"What?!" Bunny burst out, suddenly looking angry. Jack nodded eagerly, sick of this mute period. Now he know what it was like to be Sandy, and he didn't think he could survive another day of silence.

"Bunny, don't be like that. You've lost your voice before too," Tooth scolded the Guardian firmly, but her eyes twinkled with amusement. He huffed and crossed his arms.

"Whatever. We still get a day of silence," he muttered, determined to find at least a little bit of goodness in the situation.

North sent a yeti off to get the medicine before discussing with Sandy different symptoms of the affliction. Tooth turned back to her little cluster of fairies, resuming her normal duties. Bunny was content to sit back and enjoy the break from his and Jack's bantering until he heard a soft tapping. His sensitive ears picked up and quickly zoomed in on Jack's position.

The Guardian of Fun was tapping his staff lightly against the table, just loud enough for Bunny to hear but not enough to disturb the other three. Bunny closed his eyes and tried to focus on the other conversations, but all he could think about was that maddening tapping sound. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, determined to not give in to the other's teasing taps. He began counting quietly under his breath, reaching five before he finally growled and yanked the staff out of the winter spirit's grip.

"Enough with the tapping already, you bloody nuisance!" he snapped. Jack simply grinned innocently before his eyes narrowed on the staff in Bunny's paw and the smile faded. The powerful stick of wood was dull and lifeless in the other's grasp and it seemed to call to its owner. Before Bunny could even blink, Jack had snatched his staff back and held it close to his chest. Thankfully, Bunny got the message and backed off, paws in the air.

"All right, all right, cool it," he muttered, trying to calm the other down. The conversations had abruptly stopped as all eyes turned on the pair, but the tension was broken by the sound of a yeti's voice and the door opening. Phil came in with cherry red cough syrup which also served to help reduce inflammation in the throat. North thanked him and approached Jack with the medicine. Jack quickly hopped up onto the back of the chair, warily eying the red liquid.

"Is all right, will not taste bad," North said quickly. Bunny snorted loudly at that, but was silenced by a glare from Tooth. Jack reluctantly accepted the small capful of liquid and stared at it for a moment before draining it quickly. An expression of disgust quickly formed on his face and he glared at North, silently accusing him of the lie.

"Sorry, but was only way to convince you," North said with a shrug. Jack rolled his eyes before testing out his voice. The medicine was surprisingly fast in helping the spirit and he began forming raspy sentences. No one could hear what he was saying, except Bunny, and from what the others could tell it wasn't flattering.

"Out of all the things ya could've said, you just had to go for the ears," he grumbled, eliciting a hoarse chuckle from Jack that made Tooth wince.

"You took my staff, Kangaroo, thus making yourself my primary target," Jack explained, his voice quickly gaining more strength.

"When am I not your primary target?" Bunny scoffed.

"When I'm asleep," Jack replied with a grin. Sandy quickly shook his head and formed a sleeping Jack with a little dream bubble of teasing Bunny.

"All right, make that never," he corrected.

The others all laughed as Bunny began his usual responsive banter and soon, the two were in a full blown bickering war.

"Some things will never change," Tooth murmured quietly to the other two. They both nodded, knowing that was true and that they wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

**A/N: And that's that! I hope you liked it and don't forget to review. Reviews light up my inbox like nothing else. Well, so do faves/follows.**


	13. Chapter 13: Agreed

**A/N: Hey people! I'm back, again. This is another idea that I've been having fun growing in my mind and I think you'll enjoy it. It's funny, when I first had the idea to start this series of stories, I had intended to have lots of angst in it. However, so far, most of them have been humorous. So if you have any good angsty ideas, please let me know! But for today, have another funny one. Well, hopefully you find it funny if I do it right.**

**A special thanks to **_**Peanut Butter Rules**_** for the follow. I'm glad you find this story worthy enough to add to your alert list. **

_**Jasdevi's secret sissy: **_**Good reaction, just what I was aiming for! **

_**Caithlinn13: **_**Yeah, I imagine that was quite difficult for him. Glad you liked it! I hope a one day wait is soon enough for you. ;)**

_**Kiearrah Mai Rhone: **_**Thanks **** At thy request, Kiearrah Mai Rhone the first, I have gotten this chapter out fairly soon. I hope you like it!**

**I love you all, lovely reviewers! And the people who favorited (new word! Yay!) or followed this story. And anyone else who took the time out of their lives to read this. You are all amazing. **** Now, onto the story. **

**Disclaimer: Me no own.**

* * *

_Chapter 13: Agreed_

_Post-film_

Bunny was an inch away from exploding. Was a little peace and quiet while he worked on new egg designs really too much to ask for? For the millionth time, he wished that the winter spirit had had pharyngitis indefinitely. Of course, that brief period of silence was too good to be true. He sighed, trying to tune out the other's words, but failed miserably. He had two giant ears on his head, it was really difficult to tune out sound.

"Just bugger off already!" he snapped, ducking as another snowball flew by his head followed by a peal of laughter.

"No," Jack retorted, sticking his tongue out as he flew in circles around the Guardian of Hope. Bunny's paws clenched into fists.

"Aw, is the wittle Kangaroo mad?" Jack mocked, using his best baby voice. That was it, that was the last straw. Bunny jumped to his feet and gave his best glare to the spirit.

"All right, that's it! What is it gonna take to make you go away and leave me alone?" he snapped. Jack pretended to think for a minute before he shrugged. "Nothing that I can think of. I wouldn't think to deprive you of my awesomeness," he answered, smirking.

"This is ridiculous. You never go along with anything I say. I bet you couldn't agree to anything if you tried," Bunny grumbled, not quite paying attention to what he was saying. Jack paused in his circling, fixing Bunny with a bright blue gaze.

"Fine. You're on," he said, lowering to the ground. Bunny looked at him in confusion.

"On for what?" he questioned, curious.

"I bet I could agree to things, despite what you think," the winter Guardian explained. Bunny straightened up. Of course! Jack could never resist a dare, or a bet. He grinned. The solution had presented itself on a silver platter.

"Okay then. You have to agree to do everything I say for the entire day, if you can manage it," Bunny challenged. Jack nodded. "Fine. If- or should I say when- I win, you have to put aside all your boring sketches and have a snowball fight with me," he offered.

Bunny nodded. "Fine. But when you lose, you have to leave me alone for an entire month. Are we agreed?" he asked, struggling to contain his glee as he held out a paw. Jack nodded and shook it firmly.

"Agreed."

* * *

The next couple of hours were the best hours of Bunny's encounters with the Guardian of Fun. True to his word, he complied to everything Bunny requested. He would fetch paints, sit silent for half an hour (though he struggled the most with that one), and would shoo away birds and other animals who tried to disturb Bunny's peace and quiet. All in all, it was quite relaxing, but Bunny decided it was time to take advantage of this power. After all, if he only requested mundane tasks, it wouldn't be much of a challenge for Jack.

"All right, Frostbite. Here's your next task. You have to go to Tooth's palace and open your mouth," he ordered. Jack looked at him in confusion. "Okay…," he said warily.

"Here, I'll give you a hand. I can't miss this anyway," Bunny offered, opening a tunnel. Jack shrugged and hopped down into it, closely followed by Bunny. A few minutes later, they were emerging into Tooth's palace. They could see their feathered friend fluttering high above their heads, shouting out orders to her fairies as she checked and re-checked the tooth boxes, making sure everything was in its proper place.

Several fairies noticed the new arrivals and fluttered down to them, led by Baby Tooth. Bunny nudged Jack with a wicked grin, nodding towards his mouth. Jack sighed and opened his mouth partway. That was all it took for the fairies to shoot towards his face and into his mouth.

He stumbled backwards, unable to close his mouth as the fairies examined his teeth up close. Bunny was practically rolling on this floor, laughing at the other's distress. His face as the fairies ambushed him was priceless! Bunny regretted not bringing a camera, but his memory was good enough that he knew he wouldn't forget this for many years. And if he had his way, Jack wouldn't be forgetting either.

Eventually, Jack managed to shoo the fairies out of his mouth and took in several deep breaths, making sure no feathers were still in his mouth. Finally, he straightened and glared at Bunny.

"Before you say anything, I have another order while we're here. You have to pretend to be sick in front of Tooth," Bunny said quickly. Jack sighed, already seeing where this was going.

"You've seen her in mother hen form before, why is this any different?" Jack asked, _really_ not wanting to do this.

"Are you not agreeing?" Bunny questioned, raising an eyebrow and smirking. Jack groaned, and shook his head.

"Fine! Fine! I'll do it," he mumbled, before flying up to Tooth. From Bunny's view on the ground, he could see them exchanging words before Jack suddenly lurched in the air and held his hand to his forehead. And then a feather bomb went off. Or at least, that's what it appeared as Tooth and several fairies began flying around Jack frantically, peppering him with questions and feeling his forehead. Jack tried to bat them away, but their sheer force of numbers kept him surrounded.

The Guardian of Fun rolled his eyes, and called upon the wind to free him. A cold gust blew Tooth and her mini fairies aside, giving him a window to escape and he flew straight down, aiming for Bunny.

"Open a tunnel! Now!" he yelled as Tooth began to chase after him.

"Jack, wait! You're not well! Get back here!" she shrieked, catching up to him quickly. Bunny quickly made a tunnel and hopped through. However, before Jack could reach it, it closed and he had to pull up quickly to avoid colliding head first into the unforgiving ground.

"BUNNY!" Jack's shout echoed down into the tunnel where the large rabbit sat, still chuckling.

Later, he went back up and rescued Jack from the fairy's relentless babying, convincing her that it was all fake. They went back through the tunnel and appeared at Jack's lake.

"You... are… a jerk," Jack panted, catching his breath from his frantic flight around the Tooth Palace. Bunny just grinned innocently.

"You've managed to nearly make it through the whole day. That issue at Tooth's took longer than I had expected, but we do have time for one more order. If you can complete this, you win. Otherwise, you lose," Bunny said, formulating an idea in his mind.

"Fine, what is it Kangaroo?" Jack snapped, feeling quite irritable after the last task.

"You have to shower me with compliments and praise. When I think you've done enough, the bet will end," Bunny ordered. Jack stared at him, slack jawed, before shaking himself out of it. "Oh, that's just mean," he grumbled.

"Do you agree?" Bunny asked, ignoring his comment. Jack closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself before looking at the rabbit and nodding.

"Fine," he growled.

"Good, now begin," Bunny ordered.

* * *

Two hours later, Jack was completely regretting this whole bet. He had been reduced to repeating praises over and over, and had to actually be _nice _to the Kangaroo. Of course, he wasn't allowed to refer to Bunny as that. Instead, he was referred to as 'Your Superiorness' and 'Bunny, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe'. Needless to say, it was a _very _long two hours.

At last, Bunny took pity on him and held up his hand, signaling him to stop in the middle of his praise of Bunny's unparalleled egg painting skills, and how creative he was.

"All right, Frostbite, you win," he said eventually, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes after laughing uncontrollably at how flustered the Spirit of Winter was getting.

"Good! All right, Kangaroo, get ready for the snowball fight of your-," Jack began, but was cut off as Bunny hurled a mound of snow into his face. He slowly and deliberately wiped it off and grinned at Bunny.

And that was the only time the Easter Guardian ever got a shot in, as Jack relentlessly battered him with snowballs for three hours straight.

* * *

**A/N: The end. Jack/Bunny friendship/bickering stories are so fun to write. **** I just wish I could actually write a good accent for Bunny. Maybe I'll attempt it next time. We'll see.**

**In the meantime, leave suggestions! And reviews! **


	14. Chapter 14: Phil

**A/N: SORRY SORRY SORRY for the delay! I've been really busy getting ready for school which starts next week and I just got music for pit orchestra (for **_**Les Miserables!) **_**and I have a big orchestra retreat this weekend so I've had a lot going on. But I have time for a quick update today! Yay! I'm going to start another arc soon, but not quite yet.**

**Thanks to **_**Harrison Orion Black, Rise-of-the-writer, insanereader3, cuteknight101, XoXBloodyAliceT.T, Star Anise, WolfScale3857, **_**and**_** Sheeda15 **_**for favoriting or following this story! :D**

_**Kiearrah Mai Rhone: **_**Don't get used to those two updates in a day! School's gonna mess with my schedule but I'll try to update as often as possible.**

_**Amazing-Thalia-Grace: **_**Glad you liked it! I didn't have very many ideas on what he would make Jack call him so I just settled for that.**

_**Caithlinn13: **_**Thanks! If anything, updates are gonna get a bit slower but I'll try not to delay too long. Wouldn't want to keep my readers waiting!**

**Okay, I believe that's everyone. I posted a little Lone Ranger story so reviews from that and this are mixing up a bit. But that's a good thing that I'm getting reviews! I love reviewers and favoriters and followers and I don't care if I'm making up words now. You guys rock!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own. Do. Not. Own. **

* * *

_Chapter 14: Phil_

_Pre- and post- movie_

Phil. Not technically his official name, but it had just stuck, like that little tooth helper. The winter spirit certainly had a penchant for naming things. The yeti never told anybody, but he was rather fond of his nickname and now he never heard his original name anymore. It had become his identity and he wouldn't change it for the world.

He had gotten his nickname the first time Jack had tried to break into the Workshop. He had been a mere janitorial yeti at the time, not having been promoted to a higher rank yet, when he had heard a soft thump come from one of the rarely used rooms. Putting aside his mop and letting his curiosity take over, he marched over to the door and peeked inside to discover the source. There, on the floor, lay a spirit. It clearly wasn't human, because no human could've entered the North Pole through a second story window without at least shivering.

As he watched, the boy got up and brushed off his old cloak and tattered leggings before he scooped up an old staff. Phil was a pretty good judge of age, and he guessed the spirit to be anywhere between one and two hundred years old, very new for a spirit. Phil himself was well over seven hundred and still looking good for his age.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a startled gasp. The boy had turned to the door and fixed his wide, blue eyes on the yeti currently standing there. He quickly got over his shock and grinned. "Hey! I'm Jack! Who are you?" he asked curiously.

"Philgrathmanlieh," Phil replied. Jack just stared at him blankly, before shrugging. "I'm just gonna call you Phil. So, mind showing me around?" he replied, moving to open the door further. Phil shook off his irritation at this nickname and shook his head. No uninvited guests allowed in the North Pole. That was one of the top rules of being a worker and he was going to stick by it.

Jack pouted slightly. "Aw, come on! I won't touch anything!" he begged, trying to get past Phil, using his staff to poke at the yeti. Phil rolled his eyes, grabbed the spirit's cloak, and unceremoniously threw him out the window. Jack barely had time to register the fact that he was, in fact, hurtling towards the ground before he desperately called for the wind who obediently grabbed him and saved him from a very unpleasant collision with the ground.

"I'll take that as a no," he called to the yeti leaning out the window to make sure he hadn't actually injured the spirit. Phil grumbled and shook his fist at Jack who just laughed and soared away, already making plans for his next entrance.

* * *

Over the next hundred and fifty years, a routine quickly became established. Jack made it his mission to enter through every window in the building, while Phil was determined to stop him and throw him out before he reached the main Workshop. The other yetis knew what was happening, of course, and only chuckled quietly as Phil grumbled after another successful day of 'Catch-the-Spirit'. They all could see that he loved it.

Phil had changed quite a bit from the janitor he had once been. North had taken notice and had promoted him to one of the Senior Yetis. Those who knew him could scarcely believe the change that had overcome him. He had had very few friends at first, due to his quiet and gruff nature. However, as time went by, he began to loosen up a bit as he secretly looked forward to the soft gust of chilly air that signaled Jack's arrival and the start of the hunt.

He began to have more fun that he had had in centuries. The creative side of him, hidden for so long, began to emerge as he came up with more ways of throwing the spirit out aside from just chucking him out a window. His methods included, but were not limited to, chasing Jack with a broom, taping the window shut, summoning an army of elves, and dumping a mug of lukewarm chocolate on him. Though he was unaware of it, his whole attitude towards his job and the other yetis changed. He now enjoyed going to work and associating with his fellow yetis who gladly gave him new ideas.

His circle of friends grew, and he began to realize that his loner lifestyle had only served to bring him unhappiness. Jack didn't show up every day, but when he did they would chat a bit despite their language barrier. Phil even managed to teach him some Yetish to make conversations just a bit easier. At the end of it, as always, Phil would show Jack the door, in a manner of speaking, and would return to work.

As an old loner himself, he knew what kept Jack going back to the Pole. The kid was lonely, plain and simple. He never mentioned any friends or other spirits, and it was clear that he often got into disagreements with them from the bruises and other injuries he sported on occasion. Phil never managed to get a straight answer from Jack, who simply changed the subject, but he knew what was going on and he hated it. He had developed a fondness for the spirit and was saddened to see him hurt.

* * *

The day Jack became a Guardian, Phil was both excited for his friend and severely disappointed. Jack now had free access to the Workshop as a Guardian. It was wonderful that he had friends, Phil would admit, but he would miss their little game. Jack had no need to break in anymore. Phil knew it was selfish of him, but a part of him wished that nothing would have changed.

These thoughts were swirling around his head one snowy day as he plodded down a hallway, his chores done until North summoned him, swinging his empty lunchbox. He was passing by a room, the room in which he had met Jack, when he heard a thud and a softly uttered curse. Perking up, he quickly yanked the door open. There, lying in a heap on the ground and rubbing his head, was Jack.

"Gotta remember that window sill next time," he grumbled, massaging a new lump on his head.

"Argablargha?" Phil asked, confused as to why the Guardian of Fun was entering through a window. Jack looked up at grinned. "Phil! Fancy seeing you here," he remarked brightly, grinning his trademark smile.

He saw the confused look and chuckled. "Aw, come on Phil, did you really think anything would change just because I have 'responsibilities' now?" he asked, using air quotes. Phil simply nodded, not daring to hope. Jack let out a loud laugh, sending it ringing through the room.

"You silly hairball! I'm not going to just abandon you! What kind of a friend would I be?" he burst out, standing up and ruffling Phil's beard. Phil just stared at him.

"Well, come on then! Time to kick me out, eh?" Jack prompted, nudging him with his elbow.

A smile slowly spread across Phil's face and he looked down at the metal box in his hand. Jack looked at it too and backed up.

"Woah, what are you gonna do with that? Phil? PHIL!"

* * *

**A/N: Aw, nice ending. Okay, I'm going to do something angsty next time! Unless I happen to get a remarkable suggestion. Hint hint. I do have one suggestion coming, but it's going to wait until after an arc. Amazing-Thalia-Grace, I believe you gave me the idea, so that should give you a tiny hint about what's coming.**

**Stay tuned people! I apologize for sporadic updates. REVIEW AND SUGGEST STUFF! That may make me update faster, you never know…**


	15. Chapter 15: Shadows

**A/N: Hey people, I'm back! School just started so WARNING: SPORADIC UPDATES AHEAD! I promise I'll do my best to not let any longer than two weeks go by without an update. It'll get better once I adjust to my schedule. And to the weird fact that my AP Stats book actually has a sense of humor… weird. Anyways, I'm starting a new arc! This will lead into a little request I got which needs some background so that's what this will be about. Since it's an arc, I'll try harder to update.**

**As always, REVIEW! My ideas list is dwindling and I love hearing your suggestions. I have a grand total of: 2 suggestions. Both great, by the way. So add your ideas in a review! **

***Note: I apologize if I accidentally credit a follower or favoriter in the wrong story. I had a Lone Ranger story also going on and I might have possibly put the wrong people in the wrong story. Let me know if I did that to you***

**A long special thanks to **_**drich147, dragoscilvio, DragonflyonBreak, inspibrain101, britewing, wolfnymph1, thunder angel13, **_**and **_**Lover Of Yuki Judai and Haou**_** for the favorites or follows! I'm even getting favorite author alerts now! XD I love you guys! I love watching this list grow and also the reviews list!**

_**Kiearrah Mai Rhone: **_**I wish he'd had more of a part in the movie, but yeah he's one of my favorites in fanfiction. I agree that Phil's fate in the Avengers was sad. However, I'm not sure that it was Phil who was the one painting the eggs. I could be wrong in how I remember it, but if I remember correctly, they passed Phil and then passed the other yeti who was painting. If it was him, then yes, that's also very tragic. Thanks for reviewing so much!**

_**Jasdevi's secret sissy: **_**Haha, nice reaction.**

_**Caithlinn13: **_**I like that idea actually! It reminds me a bit of an iCarly episode with the psycho fan which was always one of my favorites. I think I'll use that. Thanks for suggesting it!**

_**xXHalfPrinceXx: **_**Aww, thanks! I'm glad you liked it!**

_**Amazing-Thalia-Grace: **_** By the way, I'm getting to that idea that you had about Jack using 'the eyes' on Pitch. This arc should set that up quite nicely.**

**Okay, I think that was everyone! 2 more reviews and we'll hit 30. XD Don't forget to review and SUGGEST things! Now, enough with this long author's note. I'm considering moving thanks and review replies to the bottom so everyone else who doesn't want to read through them all can just skip it when they finish the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: *Hello? Yes, can I own Rise of the Guardians? No? Oh, okay then.* Sorry, I just called. I can't own it. **

* * *

_Chapter 15: Shadows_

_Post-movie_

Shadows. Such a simple thing, really. The absence of light, blocked by an object's mass. Scientifically speaking, that's all they are, but then, Pitch has never had much regard for science. It was the human's way of explaining things that don't make sense to them. Like magic and nightmares and such.

'_Oh, it's just your unconscious mind creating frightening images.'_

That was how he had heard some teacher explain nightmares to her students. The gullibility factor had been increasing dramatically over recent years, and now it was reaching the point where Pitch had to fight the urge to face palm whenever he went anywhere. He was the Nightmare King and he would not be defeated by something as silly and pathetic as science! Granted it had taken him a few years to recover his strength from the Guardians, but it had only been a few years compared to the several centuries it had taken him last time. He was back in action.

* * *

One chilly night in October, barely a week before Halloween, he was doing his usual rounds around the half of the globe shrouded by night. This spooky season and all the ghost stories involved provided great fodder for new nightmare material in the minds of young children. All he had to do was coax the most frightening story a child had heard to the front of their mind and it would do the rest. That was his plan as he approached a house in Burgess belonging to a family who had recently moved in. A young girl lay sleeping inside after her older brother had told her a story involving a man killing his elderly Uncle because he had evil eyes.

A slow smile spread across Pitch's face as he emerged from the shadows, observing the golden sand spinning over her young head portraying a happy image of a family picnic. This was far too easy. He reached out a slender, grey finger, intent on turning that happy picnic into a night of horrors. As soon as he made contact, his nightmare would be planted and he would be—

"PITCH!"

"GAH!"

The King of Nightmares startled, which he would never admit later on, and whirled around to see a blur of colors barely three inches from his face.

"What in the BLAZES do you think you're doing?!" he hissed at the fluttering fairy, leaning away from her intrusion into his personal space. She took no notice of his discomfort and began to ramble.

"We—Jack—your help—shadows—JUST COME ON!" she shrieked in his face, grabbing his wrist and yanking him towards the back wall of the room. The sleeping girl, who was apparently quite a deep sleeper, simply mumbled something incoherent and turned over. Pitch forcibly yanked his arm away and glared at Tooth.

"My help? You're asking for MY help? Why on earth would I help you _Guardians_ after all you've done to me?" he snapped, crossing his arms and preparing his shadows for a quick escape if necessary. If Tooth was here, the others had to be close by and he wasn't prepared yet for another confrontation. He wasn't a total idiot who just fought haphazardly when they clearly stood no chance of success.

Tooth paused in her fluttering and fixed her big purple eyes on him which were rapidly filling up with tears. "I… I know we aren't on the best of terms," she began, ignoring Pitch's scoff and muttered '_Obviously_'. She took a deep breath.

"Listen, it's hard to explain. It'll be better if you take a look yourself. And before you turn me down, consider this a sort of… peace offering. If you help us now, we can help you in some way," she said calmly and quietly. Pitch stared at her dubiously, unsure of the quality of wool that she was attempting to pull over his eyes. However, he had the feeling that she was a terrible liar, always sticking to the truth as all goody two shoes did. Looking into her eyes, he could see the truth she reflected there.

Sighing, and instantly regretting his actions, he nodded. "Fine! We'll sort out the price later after I take a look at whatever it is you want me to fix," he agreed, grumbling inwardly to himself. This was totally against his nature and his reputation would be absolutely ruined if anyone were to find out. However, he could get a good inside look at his enemies and how they worked. They must be truly desperate to ask him for help, and despite his best intentions, he felt the faintest hints of curiosity. What would make them this insane as to go to the Boogeyman for help?

Tooth pulled out a snowglobe from a small pouch hanging at her waist, whispered quietly to it, and chucked it at a wall. A swirling portal appeared, a blurry image of the North Pole appearing in its dancing lights. Tooth glanced at Pitch briefly before they entered.

"No funny business, no tricks, no destroying anything," she warned, expression deadly serious. Pitch nodded. He would keep up the pretense of helpfulness so they would let him go farther in. He would decide later when to strike and where.

"Of course not," he replied. She studied him for a moment, eyes flicking back and forth before nodding and flying through. He took a deep breath and followed.

* * *

Shadows were really the best method of transportation, Pitch thought to himself as he recovered from the grogginess of portal transport. How those blasted Guardians did it so often and recovered so quickly was a mystery.

Before he could continue any farther along that train of thought, several loud thumps and the soft whisper of sliding sand announced the approach of Bunny and Sandy. Bunny scowled darkly upon seeing Pitch, while Sandy just nodded with a resigned expression. They clearly weren't happy about him being there. Neither was Tooth, for that matter, but she did a far better job at hiding it.

"This way, Blacky," Bunny ordered, jerking his head towards a corridor leading out from the small, empty room they were standing in. Pitch raised an eyebrow at the nickname.

"Oh come now, rabbit. Seeing as you need my help, it's not a very good idea to start calling me names before I've even done anything," Pitch said calmly, knowing that would only aggravate the Guardian.

"Shut up. I'm not dealing with you any more than I have to. Now move it," Bunny snarled, paws clenching into fists. Pitch smirked, before following Sandy out of the room, gliding with his usual grace amongst the shadows while his counterpart stayed in the lighter areas of the halls.

They approached an icy blue door after traversing the halls for quite some time. Frost and ice designs covered the door and the frame around it, giving obvious clues to who was inside. Sandy, who had stayed silent, or what counted as silence for him, knocked on the door quietly.

"I assume Frost and North are in there," Pitch stated, curiosity growing the further they walked.

"No duh, Sherlock," Bunny muttered from behind.

"Shh, both of you!" Tooth hissed, nudging Bunny who flattened his ears against his head and nodded. Pitch noticed the odd obedience, knowing how much the Pooka disliked following orders without offering his own opinion first. He didn't have time to contemplate that for they had arrived at the door.

After waiting a few moments, they got a response.

"Enter!" North's voice ordered, cracking slightly indicating exhaustion. Sandy pushed the door open and led the way inside, Pitch close behind him. The entire room had a very strong winter theme. It had once been an unused room that had been, coincidentally, where Jack and Phil had first met. The walls were a pale white with blue swirls around the ceiling. Silver snowflakes were painted in swirling patterns that emanated from the window against the far wall. The left wall contained a closet and a small table which stood empty. On the right was a small bed, with a small chair sitting next to it.

Occupying the chair was North, who was leaning his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, trying to wipe away his tiredness and failing. In the bed was Jack Frost. Pitch took a sharp intake of breath, instantly realizing what the problem was.

"Will you help?" Tooth asked quietly as he approached the winter spirit. Pitch snapped out of his shocked daze and turned to her.

"Yes," he answered, before turning his eyes back to the scene before him.

Jack lay flat on his back, unnaturally still, staff propped against the wall next to him. His entire body was covered in large shadows, but instead of black, they were a dark blood red. It was as if someone had turned on a red light and had held their hand in front of it, projecting odd shapes onto the spirit's body. They were not on the surrounding bed, so he must have gotten them elsewhere. The red shapes had stained his clothes, his skin, and his hair, giving him the appearance of being covered in blood.

Pitch knew exactly what this was and who had done it, and the answers presented a terrifying prospect. He would never admit it, but yes, the Boogeyman, King of Nightmares, was scared.

* * *

**A/N: The end of part one! I tried for a cliffhanger. It's kind of hard to explain what I'm imagining so I hope I communicated the idea clearly enough.**

**No offense to any science lovers! This was obviously from Pitch's POV. I myself have a great love for science, but I'm not narrowminded about it. Also, the story I referenced, was from a story by Edgar Allen Poe that I found in a book of ghost stories. I don't remember the name of it though. :-/**

**ANYWAY! Review please! Leave suggestions! Tell your friends about this story! **** I love you guys and I'll try to update soon.**


	16. Chapter 16: Fate

**A/N: Hey look! An update! Or rather, an attempt to procrastinate important stuff! And a desire to post the next part of this arc now that I've figured out what my plan is. This one should have a more satisfying fight scene than my other arc. I've also decided that, after this, I'm going to just post all chapters under one arc name when I do arcs so it'll be less confusing. But for now, I'll keep doing it the way I have been.**

**After this arc is over, I will also try to remember to move replies to the bottom. I forgot today and I didn't want to fix it. Laziness!**

**Thanks to **_**Sylvery, frostwolf777, **_**and **_**Andtheycalleditpuppylove **_**for favoriting/following my story and/or me! **** Three smilies for each of you.**

_**Sylvery: **_**I'm glad you liked the prank! Originality was what I was aiming for, so I'm glad to see it worked. If by 'it', you mean the eyes have a crazy power over people, then yes, they do have it. **** And thanks! I'm glad you think that chapter was movieworthy! Sorry I lumped all of your reviews into one reply, but it's easier for me this way. I'm definitely glad you reviewed. **

_**Sugarart: **_**You shall find out in this very chapter!**

_**Caithlinn13: **_**Glad to see I perked your interest. I will use Sandy a lot, I promise. I know I haven't used him a whole lot in these, but his appearances and roles will increase, especially in that story/possible arc.**

_**Dragoscilvio: **_**Thank you for your suggestion! Sick Bunny, huh? I think I can do that. I'll try to add my own spin on it so it's not like a bunch of other stories, but it'll still have the same general idea. Hopefully I can succeed with that.**

_**Guest-Kcr (Guest): **_**I definitely plan on continuing, lol. You shall find out who it is… most likely in this chapter. I think.**

**Thank you all for your responses! I love seeing my inbox fill up. **** I hope you enjoy this next chapter and part two of this arc.**

**Disclaimer: Hey, look, a disclaimer! That must mean that I don't own it.**

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_Previously…_

_Jack lay flat on his back, unnaturally still, staff propped against the wall next to him. His entire body was covered in large shadows, but instead of black, they were a dark blood red. It was as if someone had turned on a red light and had held their hand in front of it, projecting odd shapes onto the spirit's body. They were not on the surrounding bed, so he must have gotten them elsewhere. The red shapes had stained his clothes, his skin, and his hair, giving him the appearance of being covered in blood._

_Pitch knew exactly what this was and who had done it and the answers presented a terrifying prospect. He would never admit it, but yes, the Boogeyman, King of Nightmares, was scared._

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_Chapter 16: Fate_

After looking over Jack and confirming what he knew to be true, Pitch was led to a large sitting room area that led off from the familiar globe room. He perched on the edge of a large, squishy armchair, feeling highly uncomfortable with being surrounded by his sworn enemies who were all, minus Tooth who was watching Jack, staring at the floor in various states of gloom and melancholy.

Pitch cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "All right, does anyone want to tell me what happened?" he asked, the strategist in him awakening and beginning to want facts and details.

Sandy and Bunny turned to North who straightened and looked Pitch in the eyes.

"Is a most confusing story to tell. Where to begin?" he mused, frowning thoughtfully. Pitch rolled his eyes. "The beginning, perhaps?" he asked snarkily.

"Ah, yes. Well, I suppose it started when we were at our annual Guardian meeting. Jack suggested we all take a sleigh ride, and of course we all agreed to make him feel welcome," North began.

"Almost all of us," Bunny grumbled, shivering at the memory of being so high up and far away from his beloved solid ground.

North continued on, ignoring the interruption. "We were flying over northern Canada, I believe, when we were surrounded by a cloud of red shadows! The reindeer were startled, of course, and only my superior flying ability got us out alive," he boasted.

Pitch closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Just get this over with so you don't have to suffer this any longer than you have to_, he thought to himself.

"Anyway, we flew out, but Tooth spotted a figure flying off. From her description, the mysterious figure was female. That's all we know. I turned back to look at the others, but Jack had collapsed," North explained.

"It was like parts of that bloody cloud had stuck to him and sucked away his consciousness," Bunny added, his Australian slang very accurate for once. Sandy added a few images of the cloud attaching itself to a sand Jack and he suddenly collapsed.

"We took him back here, and called for you because they appeared to be a form of shadow which is obviously your specialty," North concluded, leaning back in his chair and looked at Pitch expectantly.

Pitch's shoulders slumped slightly. It was her. One of the few beings who could actually inspire feelings of fear inside him. He considered himself to be ruthless, but in comparison to her, he was a harmless little chipmunk. He might actually, though he loathed to consider it, have to genuinely help the wretched Guardians. They might be his enemies, but they didn't deserve that spirit's attention.

"Unfortunately, I know exactly what happened to him," he began. Sandy instantly began firing off countless question marks. '_Who is it? What's happened?'_ he asked.

"I fear it is far worse than your narrow minds can comprehend. Somehow, you have incurred the attention and wrath of Dark Fate, or Bloody Fate as others call her. Her sister, Light Fate or Destiny, is a weakling in comparison and can do nothing to hold her sister in check. Dark Fate has a sort of habit, you might say, of finding spirits she hates and declaring war on them. And trust me when I say that when Dark Fate is against you, it is _very_ hard to win," Pitch informed them. Sandy made a sand picture of the splotches that covered Jack and more question marks.

"I'm getting there, hold your horses little man," Pitch snapped with a scowl. Sandy crossed his arms and offered his own glare back. The Boogeyman rolled his eyes at his counterpart's theatrics before continuing.

"She usually goes after a pair or a group of spirits, rarely after a single one. She chooses one and marks them with her own sort of pre-warning sign. She has obviously chosen to mark Jack. Once marked, they will not awaken unless Dark Fate has been defeated. Many spirits have faded away into nothingness because they never woke up," he finished, voice trailing off as past memories flashed through his mind.

"Never woke up?! Whaddaya mean, never woke up?" Bunny demanded, leaping to his feet.

"Exactly that, rabbit, are you deaf? Or simply too dumb to understand the concept of not waking up?" Pitch remarked calmly, not intimidated by the warrior rabbit's impressive stature.

"Why you little-," Bunny began, striding forward with his paws clenched before Sandy grabbed his arm and shook his head. He turned to Pitch, pointed at him, and then made a figure of Pitch and his best impression of Dark Fate with a line between them. North nodded, understanding the question instantly.

"Ah, yes, of course, good question Sandy. Have you encountered her personally, Pitch?" the Cossack asked, although Pitch could read Sandy's symbols perfectly. He looked away, hands clenching, gritting his teeth.

"Yes. But that's a story for another time. We need to take out Dark Fate before she comes to take out all of you," he snapped, diverting the conversation.

"But what does she have against us? I don't know about the rest of you, but I sure haven't met her before," Bunny asked, annoyed that a spirit automatically decided to hate them.

"I'm sure she has the same grudge against you as several other spirits do. They don't like your ignorance of their existence. It seems to be quite a problem you know," Pitch pointed out, inspecting his fingernails with apparent nonchalance.

"Da, we know. Is something we will attempt to fix, no?" North replied, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"You can fix your relations with the rest of the spirit world later. What we need now are allies, as many as we can get, a location of where Dark Fate may be, and finally a good battle plan. I'm afraid your little winter spirit won't be much help, but other spirits might. Dark Fate inspires a lot of negative feelings towards her which shouldn't be too hard to cultivate into a fighting force," the Nightmare King said, running through a mental checklist.

His time for revenge was finally coming.

* * *

**A/N: And there you go! It seemed kind of short, and it's basically a filler chapter, but it sets up for good parts later on. And just a warning, it's going to get really, really AU considering Pitch's story and confrontation with Dark Fate. Nothing like canon at all so if you hate it when stories diverge from canon, here's your warning.**

**I'm not sure how long this will be, as it's still a work in progress, but the next chapter should contain a little bit more action, but still kinda filler-y. **

**I hope you all enjoy it and don't forget to review! :D Reviews make me a very happy author and more inspired to write. **


	17. Chapter 17: Chasing Fate

**A/N: What's this? A third update in three days? Wow you guys are lucky! My homework load is light tonight so I have time to write more! Yay! :D I'm also super happy because my brand new graphing calculator just arrived several days late. I kinda needed it yesterday for math class… oh well, it's here now! **** Gonna keep this note short. Replies and thanks and stuff are at the BOTTOM! But I will say, up here, thanks to everyone who's been reading and/or reviewing this story! I'm really grateful for the good responses I'm getting and I love you all! **

**Disclaimer: This stays up here. But no matter where I put it, I still don't own ROTG. Darn.**

* * *

_Previously…_

_"You can fix your relations with the rest of the spirit world later. What we need now are allies, as many as we can get, a location of where Dark Fate may be, and finally a good battle plan. I'm afraid your little winter spirit won't be much help, but other spirits might. Dark Fate inspires a lot of negative feelings towards her which shouldn't be too hard to cultivate into a fighting force," the Nightmare King said, running through a mental checklist._

_His time for revenge was finally coming._

* * *

_Chapter 17: Chasing Fate_

"The Groundhog, perhaps?"

"Nah, mate, all he cares about is the changing seasons and burrowing down into his den."

"I heard some of the griffins might be able to help."

"I approve. Griffins are excellent at fighting and they can carry away injured."

"This isn't gonna be a bloody war, ya know. Just a quick little scuffle to put Dark Fate in her place."

"On the contrary, rabbit, a 'bloody war' is _exactly_ what this is."

The discussion about allies and strategies had been going on for the better part of five hours and it was wearing on everyone's nerves. They had a fairly decent list of spirits to enlist, but Pitch wasn't convinced it was enough.

"Fate is far more dangerous than you think. It is best not to underestimate her as so many others have done in the past," he constantly warned them. Sandy was watching over Jack, trying to send him dreams, but he was too deeply unconscious and the sand just vaguely floated over his head, unable to take shape. They didn't have to worry about waking Jack – although if they did wake up him, no one would complain- so they had the discussion in his room so Sandy could be a part of it. However, he had dropped out around the two and a half hour mark, turning his attention fully on the poor winter spirit laying on the bed.

"Blimey, mate, how many more people do we need?" Bunny grumbled, watching Pitch scribble down more names on the continuously lengthening list in front of him. Pitch ignored him, tapping the feathered quill against his chin as he thought. Finally, he set it down with a flourish and leaned back in the small, wooden chair he was currently occupying.

"I believe that is everyone. You will have to send your little minions-helpers-whatever you call them to these spirits as fast as possible. We have no time to waste. Fate strikes within several days to a few weeks of her warning. I wouldn't put it past her to strike sooner," he ordered.

Tooth immediately called to her fairies and pointed out a few names on the list, including the Leprechaun, several nymphs, a Banshee (although no one was happy about her. That girl could be LOUD!), a few fauns, a genie or two, a grumpy Japanese Kappa, and the Facets of Winter who could easily be motivated due to Fate's attack on Jack. Despite their earlier conflict, Winter Spirits stick together and an attack on one was an attack on them all.

Bunny opened a tunnel and summoned a sentinel egg, who was instructed to fetch the mermaids, mermen, and the Mummy. The eggs were rather slow, so their list was considerably shorter than the others.

North called for his yetis, not trusting his elves with such an important task, and told them to locate the few ogres who were relatively friendly as far as ogres went, the Phoenix who spent most of his time grooming his feathers in his nest in Death Valley, some trolls, Sirens (yetis were some of the only creatures immune to their charm), and a shape-shifter who remained nameless as no one was quite sure who he or she really was.

Finally, Sandy turned back to the group and the list. He immediately created a bundle of sand images that would automatically explain the situation and would lead back the griffins, trolls, unicorns, vampires, werewolves, witches, and a few zombies.

Pitch looked back over the list in approval. They had quite the sizeable, and varied, army at their disposal, assuming most or all of the spirits actually agreed and showed up. He had no doubt they would. Dark Fate had harmed too many, had ripped apart too many families and bloodied her hands with the blood of many innocents. He had considered sending for her sister, but Destiny was extremely non-confrontational and would most likely prove to be no help at all.

Looking up at the Guardians, he grinned a fierce smirk that had traces of malice, vengeance, and cunning wrapped into one. It sent chills down their spines, though none of them showed it.

"All right then, Guardians. While your helpers are busy, it's time to concoct a plan. Now, we need to try to assemble and get organized before Fate's attack. If we can do it on our terms, we'll have the advantage. We need to choose a good location that we can lure her to. It must be easily defendable from our position, and it should have enough room for the size of our troops to be able to move easily. I don't want to lose because we end up bottlenecking somewhere," he explained, becoming all business and strategy. None of the Guardians had ever seen him like this before, and they realized for the first time how lucky they were to have beaten him. He clearly knew what he was doing.

"Do you know Fate's weaknesses?" North questioned, pondering possible locations. Pitch considered the question for a while, before nodding.

"Only one that I can think of. She has to win. Losing is not an option for her. This gives us some room. We don't need to be victorious, we just need to make sure she does not win. If she gets an advantage over us, she will take it and we will be crushed," he answered.

"How do you know all this anyway? I assume you've met her before, but you haven't given us any details," Tooth mentioned suddenly. The other three suddenly perked up, wondering the same thing. All eyes turned to Pitch who froze. They had no idea that they were calmly asking about his most carefully guarded secret. He couldn't just tell them! They would use it against him in the future.

Tooth noticed his eyes harden and his jaw set stubbornly, and without thinking she reached forward and laid her hand on top of Pitch's. "Look, I know you don't trust us. That's understandable. But if we're going to work together to take Dark Fate down once and for all, we need to understand everything about her. That includes your personal experiences," she said softly. Pitch stared at her hand on his, the urge to yank his hand away rising swiftly but he ignored it. The fairy did have a point. The Guardians would be most effective if they knew.

He removed his hand with surprising gentleness and clenched it in his lap as he took a deep breath and launched into his tale.

"Fine, you want to know? I'll tell you, but no interruptions. As you all know, the Man in the Moon created you to combat my powers of Nightmares and Fear. But before he sent you here…, I was not alone. I did have a family, of sorts. We were a good sized bunch, about ten or twelve in all, who all sort of migrated together due to our similar powers. We worked together to spread fear and strengthen each other. We were content and complacent, which was our downfall. The youngest of the group, barely four hundred years old, was targeted much like Frost was. I was the one to find her, sprawled across a hidden clearing, covered in Fate's stains. None of us knew what was coming, for we had never met her before. Five days later, she struck fast and furiously. Her bitter fury at us, which even now I still do not fully understand, was her most powerful tool and she killed my whole family. I alone escaped the massacre, though it was no doubt intentional. It was her way of sending a message. I have never forgiven her for this, and that is why I'm helping you. We must take her down, before her power grows even more from slaughter," he explained, clenching his eyes shut as memories of his fellow fear-spreaders' bodies filled his mind.

Unexpected heat prickled behind his eyes and his throat went dry. Oh no. He would _not _let himself shed even a single tear in front of these Guardians. He had born his grief for many centuries, and he would continue to do so as he always had. Strong and silent were his mottos and he would stick by them for the rest of his life.

The other four stared at him, displaying different measures of grief and pity. Sandy, surprisingly, had the most violent reaction. He leaped to his feet and began flashing images at an alarming rate. They were along the lines of a victorious army, Fate being defeated, and then…

"Woah, woah, woah. What's that last image?" Bunny asked suddenly, not sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Sandy rolled his eyes, before showing them the image again. There were six unmistakable outlines of people, one of whom stood separate. The other five offered their hands to him, and he shook their sandy hands.

Pitch scoffed. "A truce? You're seriously asking me for a truce? After all I've done to you? I wonder if dying knocked a few screws loose," he snapped, his shell rising back up hard and fast.

"I actually agree with Pitchy, to be honest," Bunny added, ignoring Pitch's glare at the nickname.

"Boys, let's not argue about this now. Sandy has the right idea, we can end our hostilities. But let's save that until _after_ we defeat Dark Fate, okay?" Tooth interjected, drawing their minds back to the task at hand.

North rubbed his thick hands together, the glint of ideas sparkling in his eyes. "I have plan for dealing with Fate," he announced.

They all bent their heads together quickly, all eagerly listening to his plan, although Pitch pretended to only display the mildest show of actually being curious as to the Guardian of Wonder's plan.

When North had finished explaining, he leaned back and crossed his arms. "Well? Is good plan, no?" he asked. The five others considered it for a few moments.

"Aye, mate, that just might work," Bunny finally said, nodding his head. Assent was quickly given by the others and then the strategizing and final preparations began.

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**A/N: That was a fun chapter to write, especially all the mythical characters. And that was my own unique version of Pitch's backstory which, yes, is much much different than canon. Oh well, it's my story, my rules! **** Plus it fits the story well, so yeah.**

**A big, ginormous thanks to **_**supersmach, The Homunculi Twins **_**(I love your username!), **_**NCISRoTGPJTMNTGRRATAT39CGAFAN, **_**and **_**ShadowDragon07**_** for favoriting/following this story and/or me! Thank you thank you thank you!**

_**Frostwolf777: **_**I certainly don't plan on stopping, so you should be able to learn all about what happens! **** I'm glad I have your interest.**

_**Wolfnymph1: **_**Oh, you're right! Thanks for telling me that! I loved it too, especially the guilt manifesting in the guy hearing the beating heart. It was really well-written in my opinion. I'm glad one of my readers knew what I was talking about from my description.**

_**Caithlinn13: **_**I will do that story/arc with Sandy after this arc and a few oneshots so you shouldn't have to wait too long, I hope. I think it's gonna have to be an arc, because one story isn't enough to hold it all. **

**Thank you all for reviewing! You other people who don't review, take a page out of these people listed above's books and review! :D It makes me happy to hear your feedback and SUGGESTIONS! But I love you all anyway because you actually read this story, and that makes me happy too.**


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